Naruto: Chronicles of the Sand
by AshleyKazekage
Summary: Ayama Hatano. A girl from Sunagakure with many untold mysteries about her life, which even she is oblivious to. She makes many friends and has many dramas, breaking strong bonds and losing others. But when she is given the opportunity to lead her best friend's squad, will she come to realize, that maybe there are others who need a friend, a bond. Will she be there for them?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

I walk down the barren streets of Sunagakure, my home, but I don't find it very appealing at all. My parents are dead, I just know it, and I am forced to live with my step mother who hates my guts. Heh, life sucks really. I spend most of my time alone and no one could really care about approaching me.  
>I am currently 6 years old, and have a habit of twirling twigs around in my fingers professionally. It's just a skill I've picked up. It so happens that I am twirling one right now. I sometimes impress myself at my skill. "Maybe I could use this skill and become an awesome shinobi one day." I mutter to myself.<br>"Hey.. That's pretty cool." Says a boy about my age as he comes over to me. I gasp and accidentally drop the twig. I look at the boy. "Uh, sorry about that." He says. I become all tensed up and nervous. "Huh? Are you alright? You're kinda all, shaky." He says.  
>"Uh.. S-sorry.. I'm Ayama." I stutter, and give a quick nervous bow.<br>"Oh, nice to meet ya, I'm Baki." He says and holds his hand out.  
>"Say, wanna be friends?" He asks. I blink a few times to make sure I really heard that correctly.<br>"Really?" I ask. "Heh, sure." He replies. I lose my timidness and shake his hand. My first friend.  
>"Y'know, I've seen you around, but never with anyone else.. Do you have any other friends?" He asks.<br>"Uh.. No, not really." I reply.  
>"Oh.. Heh, well I'm glad I'm your first friend. You're my first friend too." He says.<br>"Huh? Me?" I ask.  
>"Yeah, I don't get out much, too much stuff at home." he says. A faint smile comes across my face.<br>"Baki-san, we could become best friends." I suggest. He grins and nods.  
>"Yeah!"<p>

For the rest of that afternoon Baki and I talked and played catch together. Until step mom, Hideka found me, and looked very pissed. "Who's that?" Baki whispers into my ear.  
>"... My step mom." I whisper back. The tall crooked-like woman that stood before us clenched her fists.<br>"I told you to get some bread! Can't you even do that? Pathetic girl!" She gushes. Baki had a look of concern towards me. I look down. "Get your ass home now." She hisses.  
>".. Yes.." I mumble and droop past her. I stop and turn to Baki. "Um.. Goodbye." I say.<br>"Uh, yeah, bye." He says.  
>"What are you doing? Keep walking!" Hideka gushes, almost hitting me.<p>

Once we arrive back to my house I run to my room and hide away. Hideka locked my bedroom door so I couldn't get out. It was my punishment for having fun. '_Maybe I'm just meant to live a solemn life.._' I sigh and look out my window. "Baki-san.."  
>It wasn't too long later that I got comfortable in my bed and got an early night's rest.<br>Once morning came I figured out that my door was still locked. "She wants me dead." I grumble. "Well I don't care. I hate her." I get dressed and brush my hair then grab a hairpin and pick the lock. Yet another one of my skills that I picked up. I quietly sneak past Hideka's bedroom door and go into the kitchen to get some breakfast. I had to feed myself otherwise I'd starve to death. I have a small bowl of cereal.  
>After that I sneak out and go to find my new friend, no, best friend, Baki. Coincidentally enough, I found him in the same place as I met him yesterday. "Baki-san!" I call.<br>"Huh? Oh! Ayama-san!" He calls back and runs up to me. "Are you alright?"  
>"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine.. Do I not seem alright?" I ask.<br>"No, I meant with your step mom.. She seems kinda scary." He says.  
>"Oh, that.. Yeeeaaahhh.. I hate her." I reply.<br>"No offense, but I'd probably hate her too." He says.  
>"None taken." I reply with a slight snigger. Baki has really given me some self-confidence. "So what do you wanna do today?" I ask.<br>"Hm.. Dunno, what do you want to do?" He asks.  
>"I don't know, that's why I asked you." I chuckle. He smirks.<br>"Hey, maybe you could come over my place." He suggests.  
>"Yeah, alright." I reply.<p>

"Back so soon Baki?" Asks his mom.  
>"Yup, and this is my friend, Ayama!" Baki replies, introducing me. His mom smiles sweetly and crouches down to my height (I'm short).<br>"Well, nice to meet you, Ayama-san. It's nice to see Baki has a friend." She says.  
>"Yeah, and Baki is my first friend too!" I exclaim.<br>"Oh, well even better." She says. "Hm, it is early, have you had breakfast Ayama?"  
>"Yes."<br>"Alright then, you two have fun. I'm going to visit Kazekage-sama for a mission." She says. Baki huffs.  
>"You're always going on missions." He complains.<br>"Oh don't worry, you'll be doing the same thing once you become a shinobi like me." She says and pats him on the head.  
>"Wow, you're a shinobi?" I ask, utterly amazed.<br>"Sure am, what about your parents? Are they ninjas?" She asks.  
>".. My parents are dead." I say. She gasps.<br>"Oh.. Then who do you live with dear?" She asks.  
>"My step mom."<br>"Gee, I'm really sorry to hear that."  
>"I never knew that." Baki says.<br>"Hn.. It's fine, I can't really remember them anyway." I say.  
>"Well, you have a home here if you like Ayama-san." She says, patting me on the head. I smile.<br>"Thanks."  
>".. Hey Ayama! Come check this out!" Baki says, pulling my arm. His mom smiles and leaves.<p>

Baki shows me a ninjutsu scroll. "What does it do?" I ask.  
>"Apparently you read it and you can do an awesome ninjutsu!" He exclaims.<br>"Ninjutsu? Really!" I ask.  
>"Yeah! I think dad said the jutsu is called Blade of Wind." He says.<br>"I've heard of that!" I say. "Isn't that when the user emits chakra to their fingertips and turns it into an invisible sword?"  
>"Yeah! I'm learning it now." He says.<br>"Really? You gotta show me!" I say.  
>"Yup! Come, I'll show ya!" He says, and yet again, grabs my arm and pulls me along with him outside.<p>

"I will slice through those training posts." Baki declares confidently. I raise a hand to my mouth.  
>"Uh, but wont you get in trouble for wrecking public property?" I ask.<br>"Oh, the worst I would get is a lecture." He chuckles.  
>"And as for you Ayama, your punishment will be much worse." Hideka gushes as she found us. I bite my lip.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

****Chapter 2:****

"I'm going to improve the lock on your door, one you can't pick." Hideka says. Baki becomes utterly concerned.  
>"I was starving to death in there! You didn't give me dinner!" I complain.<br>"Shut it. Or there will be no food for a week." She gushes. I look down.  
>"Geez, I'm sorry Ayama." Baki says.<br>"And as for you, if you're going to speak to her, you must address her as Ayama-SAN." Hideka gushes. Baki quivers in fear.  
>"Stop it! Don't bring him into this!" I shout. She was about to hit me then.<br>"I said shut up!" She scowls and grabs my wrist. "No food for a week!" I could tell Baki wanted to help me but he was too afraid of her. I wouldn't blame him.

Hideka threw me in my room and slammed the door shut. But I just jump out the window and go find Baki again.  
>"Ayama! What are you doing!" He questions.<br>"It's fine she thinks I'm in my room, and she wont be checking on me for like a week." I reply. Baki has a look of discontent.  
>"Don't you think this is a bold decision?" He asks.<br>"Uhh.. Yeah." I reply. "But it's better than being cooped up in my room, right?"  
>"I guess. But what if she finds you?" He asks.<br>"You're very considerate aren't you?" I say. He smiles and chuckles.  
>"Yeah, I guess I am." He says.<br>"So, you were gonna show me the jutsu?" I mention.  
>"Oh! Yes! Watch!" He says and faces the training posts. "Blade of Wind!" He focuses on dispersing chakra from his fingertips and forming it into an invisible sword. He swings his arm towards the training posts and as I thought, large deep slashes penetrate them. I was impressed.<br>"That is awesome!" I exclaim. He chuckles.  
>"I'm still practicing though." He says. "Hey, why don't you show me that stick spinning thing you were doing."<br>"Oh okay." I reply and look around for a nice long stick.  
>I found one the length of my entire arm. "That's a pretty big stick." He says.<br>"Yeah, this is the biggest one yet. I'm not sure how good I will be.. So stand back." I say. He nods and steps back out of range if I were to accidentally drop it. I start spinning it between my fingers very fastly. I had just realized that longer sticks are easier to spin than short ones. I grin at my skill. Baki's jaw was about to drop off. Once he started applauding I freaked out and nearly lost control of the stick. I was not expecting him to do that.  
>"Geez, that is awesome." He says.<br>"Heh, thanks." I reply.

The two of us (I kept the stick and carried it around in my hand) walked around. "You know, the academy is quite fun." He says.  
>"How do you know?" I ask.<br>"I go there." He says.  
>"Really!"<br>"Yeah. But your skill is really awesome." He says.  
>"Just how old are you?" I ask.<br>"Uh, 9." He says.  
>"Oh, heh, you seem a lot younger than that." I chuckle. He pouts.<br>"Everyone says that." He grumbles.  
>"Oh, sorry. So when will you graduate?" I ask.<br>"I only joined this year. Apparently three years there is the average time period that people go there." He says.  
>"So.. That would make you like.. 12 when you graduate?" I ask.<br>"Yeah, and besides they don't really like us becoming Genin before the age of 10." He says.  
>"I see. Well, I'm gonna join." I declare.<br>"Haha, you have to be 7." He says.  
>"Gimme two weeks." I say.<br>"Oh, so your birthday is coming up?" He asks.  
>"Yosh."<br>"Nice. I'll have to think of something to get ya." He says. I smile.  
>"Oh you don't have to. I've never gotten presents beforehand, so it wouldn't make much difference." I say. He gasps.<br>"N-not even one?" He questions. I look at his worried expression.  
>"... No." I reply.<br>"Man that's rough." He says.  
>"Meh."<p>

"... and so I said I'd beat him."  
>"And did you?" I ask.<br>"... I'm getting there." Baki replies.  
>"Haha, sounds like he's strong." I say.<br>"Eh. Shut up." He grumbles. I laugh. "I'm gonna graduate next year!"  
>"Really?"<br>"Eh, I'm gonna try to anyway." He says. I laugh.

That evening when the sun was beginning to set, I sneak back into my room via the window and sit on my bed for the rest of the day and eventually fall asleep.

***Thud***

My eyes snap open. I am a very light sleeper. I sit up a little frightened. The moon's glow illuminated through my window which was tightly shut, because we all know, leaving your window open during the night is a bad thing. I heard many footsteps just outside my door. "Heh it's locked, that must mean there's very valuable things in there." Says a deep voice and my door knob was tugged. I began quivering. The door was then kicked down and several men came in.  
>"Huh? It's just a little girl." Says one of them. Another comes over to me and holds a blade to my throat, I gulp.<br>"And she was locked up in here. Perhaps I should put her out of her misery." He says with a wicked grin.  
>"Heh, I couldn't care less, just search the room for anything valuable." Says another. Words can't describe my fear right now. Just then my window bursts open and a person jumps in, wearing recognizable clothing. Suna's Jonin uniform.<br>"Ha, I heard you thieves were in town." She spoke. The man who was threatening me backed off, fully focused on the Jonin.  
>"How the heck did she know we were here?"<br>"I dunno boss."  
>"That is because I am a Jonin of the Sand! Nothing can escape me." Says the Jonin. "Now I will complete my mission and kill you all." I raise my arms over my head and close my eyes while the sound of blades clashing and blood being spilled and the grunts of these men filled the room.<br>After several thuds the Jonin chuckles to herself. "Too easy... Huh?" She saw me. "Oh, I didn't see you there, are you alright dear?" She asks, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. I could only whimper in response. "Are your parents in the house?" She asks.  
>"N.. No." I reply.<br>"Well is there anyone in the house?"  
>"Y-yeah."<br>".. Alright, come on." She says and picks me up. I actually felt comfortable with her holding me. She carried me out of my room and to the next room - Hideka's room. She opens the door and bites her lip. I had my eyes closed.  
>"She's.. Dead. Isn't she?" I ask. The Jonin let out a sigh.<br>"Yeah.." I didn't know whether to feel sad or relieved. "Come, I'll take you to Kazekage-sama." She says. I nod.

"Is that right?"  
>"Yes, sir." Replies the Jonin.<br>"Hm.. Girl, what is your name?" Asks the Kazekage.  
>"I'm Ayama." I reply. The Jonin gasps.<br>"A-Ayama? Really?" She asks. I look up at her.  
>"Y-you're Baki's mom!" I say.<br>"... So you two are acquainted?"  
>"Yes, sir. Ayama, would you like to stay with us?" She asks.<br>"Um.. I don't know." I reply.  
>"I will grant you permission." Says the Kazekage. A smile comes across my face.<br>"Thank you.. Sir." I say and give a bow. He gives a light chuckle.


	3. Chapter 3

****Chapter 3:****

Baki's mom takes me to her house and quietly sets up a bed in Baki's room without waking him up. He looked funny when he slept. She bids me a good night and I do the same, and get comfortable and drift off to sleep. I felt.. Free.

I awaken the next morning to an aroma of a cooked breakfast - something I'm not used to. I sit up, and notice Baki still fast asleep, hanging over the side of his bed. He was going to fall, I could just tell. I put my pillow on the ground where he was gonna fall. "Baki-san.. Baki. Baki. Baki wake up." I nag. He groans.  
>"Baki dear, wake up." Chirps his mom as she comes into his room. "It's academy day." Baki snaps awake, and to my expectation, falls off the bed. Of course, he landed on the pillow and once he noticed me he was rather confused, but shrugged and became happy.<br>We go downstairs to our lovely cooked breakfast. Baki takes his plate and sits at the table, his mom hands me my plate and I bow to her. "Thank you for the food." I say. She giggles.  
>"Such a sweet well mannered girl." She says. I sit at the table and start eating. It was possibly the best food I have ever tasted. "Ayama-san."<br>"Yes?"  
>"Tell me, do you have an interest in becoming a shinobi?" She asks.<br>"Oh, yes. Of course." I reply. She smiles and nods.  
>"How would you like to enroll?" She asks. I give a shocked expression.<br>"You.. You would enroll me? But doesn't that cost money?" I ask.  
>"Oh it's not that expensive dear, and if that's what you'd like, I'll enroll you. Today even." She says. My heart pounded.<br>"T-today! Really!" I ask.  
>"But mom, aren't people supposed to be 7 to enroll?" Baki asks.<br>"Oh but I'm sure they'll accept her." She says.  
>"Yeah, remember I said I'll be 7 in two weeks." I mention.<br>"Oh, well what do you know, you are basically the right age. Would you like to enroll today?" She asks.  
>"Oh yes please!" I reply. Baki smiles.<br>"Heh, awesome." Baki says.  
>"Oh, but I don't have any ninja clothes." I say. They both laugh.<br>"You don't need ninja clothes, just something you feel comfortable in." She says.  
>"Huh? Oh! I know! I've got some blue pants and a jumper at home!" I mention. His mom nods.<br>"Baki hurry up and get dressed, we'll stop by your house on the way." She says. Baki rolls his eyes and goes to get dressed.

"Whoa! That really happened last night!" Baki questions.  
>"Yeah.." I reply.<br>"That's rough." He says.  
>"This is your house, isn't it?" Asks his mom.<br>"Yeah. Hideka kept the key right here behind this broken brick." I say, and get it to unlock the door.  
>"Mom, would the bodies still be in there?" Baki asks. I froze at the thought.<br>"No, Kazekage-sama sent some Jonin to investigate last night. The bodies have been removed." She replies. I sigh of relief and open the door.  
>"I'll be back in a second." I call and run up to my room. I quickly get changed and run back to them. "Ready!"<br>"Alright then, lets go." She says and leads us both to the academy.

"Excited?" Baki asks.  
>"You bet!" I reply.<br>"Mmhmm, well if her birthday is only two weeks away the she may be enrolled. Now.. For all 7 year-olds.. She'll be in Nakanoi Masaru's class." Says the guy at the reception. Baki sighs.  
>"Guess that means we can't be in the same class." Baki complains.<br>"Baki-san, shouldn't you get to your class? It should have started about 3 minutes ago, and you know what Katzumi-san is like with his time." Says the reception guy. Baki gulped.  
>"R-right, see ya in the break Ayama!" Baki calls and bolts down a corridor.<br>"Is Katzumi his teacher?" I ask.  
>"Hai. And if you follow me I will take you to your classroom." He says. I look up to Baki's mom and give her a quick bow.<br>"Thank you so much!" I say. She smiles.  
>"You're quite welcome dear." She replies. I follow this guy down the same corridor that Baki went and he stopped at a door opposite to the one Baki went into. The reception guy knocks and a young-looking guy, possibly in his early 20's answers.<br>"What?" He asks.  
>"I have a new student for you." Replies the reception guy and he gestures to me.<br>"Ah, then come in!" Says the other guy. I timidly follow him inside the room. There were heaps of desks occupied by many kids about my age who watched me curiously. "I am Nakanoi Masaru. And what's your name?"  
>"I'm Hatano Ayama." I reply. He nods and faces the other students.<br>"Listen up everyone. We have a new classmate, Hatano Ayama." Masaru announces. "Hm, just take a seat wherever you like."  
>I saw a boy with black, slightly green hair wave to me. "Come sit here!" He says. I walk over to the desk and sit beside him. "I'm Okasaka Ren." I nod.<br>"Nice to meet you." I reply.

Masaru mostly gave a lecture about ninjutsu and the many different types. "Alright. I suppose it's lunchtime now. 30 minute break everyone."  
>"Hey Ayama-san, do you have any other friends?" Ren asks.<br>"Yeah, Baki." I reply.  
>"... Ohh, Baki. I know him. He's in one of the older classes." He says.<br>"Yeah."  
>"I heard Baki-san wants to be a squad leader one day." He says.<br>"Really?"  
>"Yeah." He says. The two of us walk out of the classroom and Baki was waiting outside his.<br>"Hey Baki-san!" I say.  
>"How was your first lesson?" He asks.<br>"Interesting." I reply. Baki looks at Ren.  
>"Who are you?" He asks.<br>"I'm Okasaka Ren." Baki nods. "So how long have you two been friends?"  
>"We're not friends." I say. Baki looks at me weirdly. "We're best friends." Baki nods and smiles.<br>"That's right." He says. "Hey, we should all train afterwards."  
>"Agreed." Ren says.<br>"Uh.. I don't know.." I say.  
>"You could show Ren your awesome skill!" Baki mentions.<br>"Awesome skill?"  
>"You'll have to wait and see." Baki says. "Speaking of which, Ayama, do you still have that big long stick we found the other day?"<br>"Yeah, it's.. In my room." I reply.

After class

The three of us head for my house and a go inside to get the stick and we all head to the training ground.  
>"Whoa, who did this to the posts?" Ren asks, observing the deep slashes. Baki and I laugh.<br>"It's all his doing." I say.  
>"That's cool as. You gotta teach me!" Ren says.<br>"No, first I should show you my skill!" I say. "Stand back." With awesome skill, I twirl the stick around in my fingers at a very fast speed, faster than last time. So fast in fact, that it looked like I was holding a shield or something rather than spinning a stick. Ren's jaw dropped.  
>"Ayama." Ren says. "You are now like.. Super cool."<br>"Haha, you think so?" I ask.  
>"You're so my friend." He says. I smile.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

****Chapter 4:****

It had been two weeks, my birthday is tomorrow. Tomorrow is also an academy day, talk about unfortunate.  
>"Oi, Ayama, snap out of it!" Ren says, clicking his fingers in front of my face."<br>"What?" I ask.  
>"You were day dreaming again." He says.<br>"... Ugh, sorry I'm tired." I grumble.  
>"Didn't you get much sleep last night?"<br>"No, Baki kept me awake.. Again." I reply.  
>"Haha, you two really are amusing. Oh yeah, so I see you're getting really good with the stick twirling thing." He mentions.<br>"Yup, I'm gonna use sticks as my main weapons when I'm a ninja." I say.  
>"That would actually be very smart considering your skill.. But.. Wont a stick break kinda easily." He mentions.<br>"Huh.. I never thought about that. You know.. I will find something stronger than a stick." I declare. He nods.  
>"Ren! Ayama! Quit talking!" Masaru scolds.<br>"Ah, sorry." Ren says and Masaru continued his ranting.

"Now, would everyone come line up the front please." Masaru says. Complaints were heard from every corner of the classroom. But no one rebelled and we all lined up.  
>"What's this about?" Ren asks.<br>"I am making sure everyone did their homework. Now starting with you, Ayama, show me the clone technique." Masaru says. I step forward, wondering what the point of the line was if it wasn't going to go in order, considering I was about the middle of the line.  
>"Um.." I couldn't remember the hand signs off by heart. '<em>Ram.. Snake.. Oh.. What was the other one?<em>' "Uh.."  
>"Eh.. *Cough* Tiger *cough*." Ren says. I nod to myself.<br>I do the hand signs in order, slowly. "Ram.. Snake.. Tiger.. Clone Technique!" I create an almost perfect clone of myself.  
>"Hm, it took you a while to figure it out, but considering you managed I will say you have done your homework.. Ren, you next." Masaru says. Ren nods and steps forward. He mutters the hand signs as he does them.<br>"Ram, Snake, Tiger.. Clone Technique!" He does the same as me. Masaru nods.

"Well, what a waste of a day." Ren complains.  
>"Kuh, tell me about it." Baki grumbles. I was dozing off. "Hm?" Baki looks at me slowly falling asleep as I walk. He shakes my shoulder. "Wakey wakey."<br>"Ngh. Baki you better let me get some sleep tonight." I grumble.  
>"Yeah, it's Ayama's birthday tomorrow." Ren says.<br>"Hey, I never made you stay up!" Baki exclaims.  
>"Yeah, Baki, it's kinda hard to sleep with you ranting on all night." I complain.<br>"Oh alright, alright. I'll go to sleep early tonight." Baki says.  
>"Good." I reply.<p>

"And so I said-"  
>"Baki, shut up. I don't care. Let me sleep." I complain and put my pillow over my head. Baki probably rolled his eyes and I heard him roll around.<br>"Ayama I'm bored." He complains.  
>"Then go to sleep." My muffled voice growled.<br>"Ugh, fine."

-One hour later-

"Hey Ayama!" Baki says, waking me up from my light sleep.  
>"What?" I groan, shifting my position.<br>"Happy birthday."  
>"... Later.." I groan.<p>

Later that morning, about 7, Baki was up first, though I swear he doesn't sleep. "Ayama! Birthday girl! Ayama-chan! Aya-"  
>"WHAT!"<br>"Morning."  
>"... Ugh.." I groan and sit up and give him a half-asleep look, my left eye closed and my right eye half-opened. My hair was a real birds nest. He looked down at me, grinning widely and full of energy. I rub my eyes and stand up sleepily. I go into the bathroom, do my morning business, and get dressed in there. I figured that considering it was my birthday I should wear something a little different, meaning, something I would feel more comfortable in. Long dark grey pants that went all the way down to my feet, perhaps in need of hemming up? I wear also a dark yellow tank top and I also wear the same coat thing over my shoulders that everyone else wears, it's to prevent the sand from scratching against the skin, but for now I leave it off. I brush my elbow length black hair then go downstairs for breakfast. Baki's eyes widen at the sight of me. Usually I wear black khaki shorts, a deep brown t-shirt and a light blue sash.<br>"... What?" I ask. He shakes his head and smiles.  
>"Nothin'." He replies. His mom came out of the kitchen with a hot cooked breakfast.<br>"Oh, the birthday girl is up. Happy birthday Ayama-chan." She says.  
>"Thank you." I reply and by habit, give a quick bow.<br>"Baki, have you given Ayama your present yet?"  
>"Argh, not yet, I'll go get it." Baki replies and runs upstairs, my head follows him in shock.<br>"P-present?" I stutter, looking back at his mom.  
>"Why of course dear. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until later this afternoon for mine." She says.<br>"Ayama!" Baki calls, basically jumping down the entire staircase. He gave me a small box wrapped in emerald green wrapping paper. I take it and stare at it.  
>"F-for me?" I ask.<br>"Yeah! Open it up!" Baki says. I cautiously tear off the paper and it was a fancy-looking wooden box. I placed it on the table and lifted the lid which was attached by hinges up. Inside was a kunai, but it was no ordinary kunai. It hand tiny-razor like spikes ticking out from the edges of the blade. I grab it by the handle and observe it closely. It had my name engraved in it. I could feel tears forming in my eyes and I bit my lip to try to hold them back. I gently place the awesome kunai back in the box and close the lid. "Huh? What's wrong?" Baki asks. I couldn't hold them back now. I turn around and give Baki a bear hug.  
>"Thank you so much Baki!" I cry. His mom smiled, thinking the sight was cute. But Baki had a great sense of awkwardness run over him. It would be to believe that in a 9 year old's mind such a thing of 'cooties' exist. He stood there dumbfounded. I decide to stop choking him to death and eat my breakfast. Today was going to be great. I just knew it.<p>

However there is always one thing. Always. That one thing that ruins what would seem to be a perfectly good day..


	5. Chapter 5

****Chapter 5:****

I leave with Baki to the academy, my new kunai equipped in my pocket, and I was ready for the day, or so I thought. I met up with Ren outside my classroom, bid farewell to Baki as he entered the room directly across from mine, and Ren and I went inside our classroom. Masaru-sensei grinned at me as Ren closed the door behind us. What a great way to enter the classroom... To make things even more awkward, I noticed _everyone_ in the room was grinning at me. I blink a few times.  
>"Everybody ready?" Masaru asks.<br>"Yes!" Everyone -including Ren- says in unison. Some of them cleared their throats. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AYAMA!" Okay, I was shocked. I didn't even realize that I was smiling like an idiot this whole time. Ren put his hand on my back and nods, I walk up to our desk and we sit down.  
>"Now, today is theory." Masaru says. Now I did once mention there was always something bad that ruins a perfectly good day, this was it. I bang my head against the table, Ren huffs and groans beside me.<p>

"Psst, Ayama." Ren whispers.  
>"What?" I whisper back, looking back at the board and copying down the notes, unlike Ren.<br>"I'm bored." He complains.  
>"Really?" I ask sarcastically.<br>"Yeah.."

"..."

"Ayama?"  
>"What?"<br>"I'm bored."  
>"Ngh, shhh." I grumble. He rolls his eyes.<p>

Class finally finished, and outside our classroom, Ren and I wait for Baki's class to be dismissed. Then we saw some red head smirking to himself as he walks past us. He looks at us and smiles politely. We blink a few times.  
>"Hi." He says. I became timid.<br>"Hey." Ren says. I just nod. He seemed a lot older than us. We stood around awkwardly like idiots. "Hey wait a minute, I know you.. From somewhere." The redhead smiles and nods.  
>"Well it wouldn't surprise me, I am <em>the<em> puppet master of this academy." He says.  
>"You're name's.. Sasori, right?" Ren asks. The redhead nods, then looks at me with those brown eyes of his. He cocks his head to the side.<br>"You're pretty young." He says.  
>"I'm 7." I say, managing not to stutter.<br>"... You seem younger." He says.  
>"Well not everyone automatically looks older on their birthdays." Ren says. Sasori lifts an eyebrow.<br>"So it's your birthday?" He asks. I nod. "Hm. Well, happy birthday."  
>"Thanks." I reply. He just stood there.<br>"Um.. So what're you doing?" Ren finally asks.  
>"Hm? Oh yes, I'm just picking up a mission from my old sensei." He replies.<br>"Whoa! Mission! Really?" Ren questions with awe.  
>"Yep. After all, I am a Chuunin." He says.<br>"I'm jealous." Ren grumbles.  
>"You shouldn't be jealous. You should be out training so you can graduate sooner." Sasori suggests.<br>"Oh yeah! Hey Ayama, lets go train!" Ren says, utterly full of excitement.  
>"Um.. We have to wait for Baki.." I mention. He slouches.<br>"Right.." He grumbles.  
>"What're your names?" Sasori asks.<br>"I'm Ren!"  
>"Ayama."<br>"Hm. Ren, I take it you're 7 as well?"  
>"Yep!"<br>"Let me tell you two something. I was 7 when I graduated this academy." Sasori says. My eyes widen and Ren's jaw dropped.  
>"But we've only like, joined this year! Ayama joined two weeks ago!" Ren exclaims. Sasori nodded.<br>"I was here for two weeks as well." He says. Ren's jaw nearly fell off. Sasori folded his arms impatiently when he looked at the classroom door.. Yet another moment of silence. Ren began tapping his foot. After a while that got annoying and I nudged him.  
>"I wonder when they're gonna be finished." Sasori says.<br>"Maybe they were let out early?" Ren suggests, looking at me. I shrug.  
>"No, they're definitely in there." Sasori says. Ren sighs then laughs.<br>"Haha, good 'coz I would've felt like the biggest idiot ever." He says.  
>"Even if they were Baki would've waited for us." I mention.<br>"True.." He says. We heard footsteps coming down the hallway. We all look and see none other than the Kazekage himself! Wow, after a long shit day, I am starting to feel better seeing all these popular people. The Kazekage stops and looks around at the three of us.  
>"What're you kids doing around here?" He asks. I notice Sasori winced at him, but pretended not to notice.<br>"We're waiting for their class to finish." Ren says. The Kazekage nods. "Hey third?"  
>"Hm?"<br>"You're really cool!" Ren says. The Kazekage laughs.  
>"Y-yeah, you're the strongest Kazekage in history!" I say, building up my courage. He smiles at me. But it was true, he is the strongest Kazekage yet.<br>"I know you.." He says. I nod. "You're the one whose stepmother was killed, right?"  
>"Yeah." I reply. Sasori seemed to raise an eyebrow.<br>"How are things now?" The Kazekage asks.  
>"Good!" I reply. He nods.<br>"It's her birthday today!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Oh.. Well then, happy birthday." He says. I nod. OMG! THE THIRD KAZEKAGE SAID HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! BEST DAY EVER! I smile and nod.<br>"Thanks." I reply. I notice Sasori beginning to grimace at the Kazekage. Then when the Kazekage turned to Sasori, Sasori's face dropped it and became straight. He looked the Kazekage in the eye, not showing any emotion.  
>"And you Sasori." He says. Sasori blinks once. "Keeping up with missions I presume?"<br>"Yes." Sasori replies with a slight nod.  
>"Hm... Good."<br>"Hey third?" Ren asks. '_Ugh, stop pestering him Ren._'  
>"Hm?" The Kazekage turns back to him.<br>"What brings you here?" Ren asks.  
>"I'm just checking it out. Making sure everything is okay. Also making sure the students are learning properly too." He replies. I glimpse back at Sasori, he was looking at me blankly. He looked away once I caught him looking at me. "Which reminds me, I should keep going. Have a good evening you three." He says. Me and Ren nod and bow to him honorably but Sasori has no reaction. The Kazekage nods and starts walking away. I heard Sasori quietly sigh to himself, but Ren was too intrigued in the Kazekage to notice anything.<br>Finally the classroom door opened and all the students bolted out, none of them noticed Sasori, otherwise they would've stopped and reacted with awe. Baki was the last one out.  
>"Hey guys." He says. Sasori slipped past him and went in the classroom.<br>"About time." Ren grumbles. "Come on! We have to go train! I want to graduate now, while I'm 7, like Sasori-senpai did!"  
>"Senpai?" I ask.<br>"Sasori?" Baki asks.  
>"I wanna consider Sasori my idol! I wanna be just like him!" Ren exclaims, holding a fist to the air. Sasori walked out of the classroom and blankly stared at Ren. "Sasori is so cool! I really wanna be like him! I bet girls crawl over him too!" Ren chuckles. None of us noticed Sasori was standing there, and he smirked after Ren's last remark.<br>"Yeah, it's hard keeping them away." Sasori says, startling us all.  
>"Wow, it's really you!" Baki exclaims. Sasori's eyes turn to Baki.<br>"Who are you?" He asks.  
>"I'm Baki, I can't believe I'm actually talking to <em>the<em> Sasori!" Baki exclaims. The three of us probably looked like idiotic goons to him. Sasori just smirks at the sight of us. Once his brown eyes laid on me again, it sent shivers down my spine after picturing his grimacing earlier.  
>"You look troubled." He says. Baki and Ren look at me curiously. Now I was beginning to feel claustrophobic, having three taller dudes surrounding me, looking down at me while I was against the wall, was not comforting.<br>"Um.. I'm fine." I say in an unintentional shaky voice. Sasori cocks his head to the side.  
>"Can I talk to you?" He asks. Okay, awkward. Ren and Baki seemed to have jealous looks towards me. I knew if I turned Sasori down they were both going to question me, I was not going to put up with that.<br>"U-um.. Yeah." I finally reply. Sasori nods and beckons to me with a nudge of his head. I timidly follow him outside. He was so much taller than me, but I guess that was because he was 12 and I'm 7, but still..

"What's your life like?" Sasori asks as we get outside. I look up at him. He was looking down at me.  
>"Um.. What do you mean?" I ask.<br>"Like, do you enjoy your life?" He asks.  
>"Y-yeah, it's alright." I reply.<br>"Alright?" He asks. I nod. "Hm.. So what about your family?"  
>"I don't have one." I reply. Now he seemed interested.<br>"None? No parents or grandparents?" He asks.  
>"No, not even any aunts or uncles." I reply. I notice he looks ahead and has a thoughtful expression.<br>"What happened to your parents?" He asks.  
>"I don't really know, they died when I was really young." I explain. He seemed to be listening. "Then I was left with my step mom, and she hated me, never spent time with me. I was a reject." I say. He looks at the ground. "And how did you cope with that?" He asks.<br>"I dunno. I thought that was the only way people treated people. But after meeting Baki, my first friend, and his family, my opinions changed and I got more depressed around my step mom rapidly." I say.  
>"I see.. And I heard the Kazekage mention she was killed?"<br>"Yeah, it was only a few weeks ago." I say.  
>"How are you now?" I smile.<br>"A lot better." I reply.  
>".. Do you live alone?"<br>"No, I live with Baki." I say.  
>"Hm.. I only had my grandmother growing up after my parents died. She showed affection I guess. But how was living without any of that?" He asks, he seemed so interested.<br>"Um, it was kind of lonely I guess." I reply. "But I got used to it."  
>"Did you have anything to do to keep your mind off the lonely feeling?" He asks, looking back down at me.<br>"Not really."  
>"Then what did you do?" He asks. '<em>Why is he so interrogative?<em>'  
>"Nothing really. I did used to take walks but that was about it." I say.<br>"Walks.. Hm. I used to have puppets to keep me occupied. Granny Chiyo was right when she said it would help take my mind off things." He says. ".. Say, why don't I teach you?"  
>"Really?" I ask. He smiles and nods.<br>"But I see you're having fun with your friends, perhaps you could come over this weekend?" He suggests. Me being so over excited, smiled idiotically and nod.  
>"Sure, that sounds awesome." I say. He smiles and nods.<br>"Good, I'll see you on Saturday." He says.  
>"Yeah! Sure thing! .. Wait, where do you live?" I ask.<br>"Hm? Oh right, heh, how forgetful of me, if you go down that street, turn right, then it's the second house on the left." He says.  
>"Okay! I'll see you on Saturday." I say. He nods. I run off playfully to find Baki and Ren. They weren't in the academy where I left them. "Hm.. Maybe they're at the training grounds." So I head there.<p>

They are. "Hey guys!" I call. They stop their little spar and face me.  
>"Ayama!" Ren almost screams and he runs up to me and hugs me, the force would made me fall over if his arms weren't around me. "Ooh Ayama you're the coolest!"<br>"Ga... Re.. Can't... Bre.. th... Ren..."  
>"Huh? Oh right ahaha.." Ren lets go of me and smirks. "So what did you and Sasori-senpai talk about?"<br>"Why is that any of your concern?" I ask.  
>"Just wondering." He says.<br>"Well we mostly talked about our past." I say.  
>"Oh.. Boring." He says.<br>"Ren! Give Ayama her present!" Baki nags. Ren's eyes widened.  
>"Damn! I almost forgot!" Ren exclaims. "Ayama, I'll be back in a sec!" I nod. Baki comes up to me.<br>"Close your eyes, his present is bigger than mine." He says.  
>"Okay." I say and close my eyes. Baki holds my hands out - I wasn't familiar with the whole close eyes and hold hands out thing.<br>"Okay okay okay! I'm back! Has Ayama got her eyes closed?" Ren asks.  
>"Yep." Baki replies. Baki let go of my wrists and stepped back. I kept my hands out, not knowing what to expect.<br>"I didn't know what else to get you, but then I remembered our conversation the other day, so I thought you might like this." Ren says. Then I felt something touch my hands.


	6. Chapter 6

****Chapter 6:****

I open my eyes to see a very long bamboo stick, it was only two inches short than me.. I was seriously.. AMAZED! "OH MY GOD! REN! THIS IS AWESOME!" I exclaim, checking it out. To anyone it would just be an ordinary bamboo stick, but to me, the greatest thing ever. I started dancing around. "This will make the best weapon ever!"  
>"Hahaha! Ayama! You should twirl it around like you do with the sticks!" Ren says. Bing, idea! I nod, but the bamboo stick wasn't going to fit between my fingers as it took nearly my whole hand to hold it.<br>"Okay, just let me get used to moving it around first." I say. They nod eagerly. I move it around and twist my fist a few times, then after understanding the weight and length of this bamboo stick, I start spinning it around really fast. Baki and Ren stare at me with awe.  
>"She's gonna graduate before me if she keeps that up." Baki says. I didn't let his compliment distract me, and stayed fully focused, I wanted to show off, so I started moving my arm around, which made them go 'oooh'. Then being on a ball, I thought I'd show off even more and swing my arm back and forth from behind me to in front of me and back again. When I went to put my arm behind me, my showing-off back fired and the bamboo stick whacked me in the back of the head, and I dropped in and flinched from the pain. Baki and Ren started laughing. "Ow.. Bamboo hurts." I grumble.<br>"HAHAHAHA, you're such a cracker!" Ren cackles. I just laughed with them, it probably looked really funny anyway. I actually kinda wished I saw it myself. I pick the bamboo back up and smile.  
>"Thanks Ren." I say.<br>"Hey lets get training! I wanna graduate while I'm 7 just like Sasori-senpai!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Yeah sure, I don't think you'll graduate at 7 Ren." Baki says. You and Baki laugh.<br>"Oi! I can! Watch this killer move!" Ren says, and he runs up to one of the wooden posts (they've been repaired) and throws a punch at it. He kinda froze after his fist pounded it. I blink. "OOWOWWWW!" He howls and grabs his hand sooking.  
>"Gahahahaha!" Baki laughs, I just shake my head.<br>"I thought you said the other day that your taijutsu was really bad and you used that as an excuse so you didn't have to run those laps." I mention. Ren turns around pouting, tears running down his face.  
>"Stop making fun of me. It hurt." He sulks. "I'll show you." Baki walks up to him and punches his arm (as boys do) which made Ren flinch. Ren glared at Baki who grinned at him.<br>"I thought you said you wanted to train." I mention.  
>"I don't want to train with someone who hits themselves in the head with a stick." Ren chuckles. Baki laughs.<br>"It.. It was an accident!" I exclaim.  
>"Yeah yeah." Ren says.<br>"Hey! Hey! I just had an idea!" Baki says.  
>"What?" I ask.<br>"Why don't we train individually for a week, and then verse each other and see how much better we can get!" Baki suggests, full of enthusiasm.  
>"Good idea! It would be boring if we spent our whole time training together, then we'd know each others tactics!" I say.<br>"I have a question!" Ren says, raising his hand. Baki blinks a few times at him, waiting for him to ask. "Can we get people to train us?" He asks. I get an idea. Baki laughs.  
>"Sure, but I don't think Sasori is gonna train you." Baki says. Ren pouts.<br>"Who said I was gonna get Sasori-senpai?" Ren asks.  
>"I dunno, maybe the fact you refer to him as senpai?" Baki says. I chuckle.<br>"Ha-ha, very funny." Ren grumbles.  
>"I so reckon we should do that!" I say. We all nod. We form a circle and do a three way handshake, which of course we had to cross our arms over to do so.<br>"Right, commencing from this tomorrow, we train separately!" I announce. For the rest of that evening until dusk, we trained together. I was getting really good at spinning the bamboo stick. Though, moving my arm around skillfully still didn't work out for me, so that would probably take a few years to complete.

Me and Baki walk back to his house with our arms over each others shoulders. His mom smiled at the sight of us.  
>"It's about time you two, it's getting late." She says.<br>"Sorry." I pant.  
>"Wow, that's a nice bamboo stick." She says. I carry it in my left hand while my right arm was around Baki for support. He was the same, we were holding each other up from collapsing. We overdid our training.<br>"Thanks." I pant.  
>"We're just gonna go straight to bed." Baki says. His mom smiles and nods at us as we drag ourselves towards our enemy - the staircase. We both sigh and groan in unison.<br>"You two seem very tired. Ayama, did you have a good birthday?" She asks.  
>"Yeah, I'll talk about it in the morning." I reply.<br>"Alright then, have a good night." She says.  
>"Thanks, but we gotta make it up the stairs first." Baki grumbles.<br>"Why don't we just sleep on the stairs?" I suggest. Baki looks at me.  
>"A'ight." He replies. We both sit on the first steps and lay down. His mom laughs. His dad came out too.<br>"What's this? They seem tired." He says.  
>"Come on, lets carry them up." His mom says. His mom picks me up gently and his dad picks Baki up and they carry us up the stairs. It was then I felt safe and comfortable. I could swear I heard a female voice giggling down at me, it didn't sound like Baki's mom, this giggle was different. I've heard it before.. But where..<p>

Upon waking up the next morning I notice I'm in my pajamas and tucked in. I smile. It was Friday. Tomorrow I got to visit Sasori. The idea I got yesterday was to ask Sasori if he could train me. If he did, I'd be unstoppable, mwahaha! I sit up and get dressed quickly before Baki woke up, coz that would be awkward. I make my bed and notice my bamboo stick was beside my bed. I slip the bamboo stick through my light blue sash, then check myself out in the mirror. Have the bamboo stick like that made me look automatically stronger. I smirk. Maybe Sasori will think I'm cooler like this too!  
>I go into the bathroom and brush my hair then go down for breakfast. Baki's mom was up cooking breakfast as usual. I wonder how early she gets up every morning. "Good morning Ayama." She says.<br>"Morning." I say.  
>"Hm, you look cooler with that bamboo stick attached to your back." She says. I smile. I knew it.<br>"Thanks." I say.  
>"So where did you get that? From the puppetry shop?" She asks.<br>"Huh? I dunno, Ren gave it to me as a present.. But why would there be bamboo sticks at a puppetry shop?" I ask.  
>"Well, you see how the bamboo is hollow?" She asks.<br>"Yeah?"  
>"By slicing the bamboo sticks up, they make good parts for puppets, or so I'm told." She says.<br>"Oh, I never knew that." I say. '_I could ask Sasori about that_.' "Um, is it okay if I go over to a friends house tomorrow?" I ask.  
>"Of course." She replies. "I'm not your mother, so you don't have to ask permission to do anything.. Just be sure to be safe if you're staying out late, okay?"<br>"Okay, thanks." I reply.  
>"Is Baki up yet?" She asks.<br>"Nope."  
>"Okay, I'll be back in a second, here's your breakfast." She says, handing me a plate. I sit down at the table with and and she goes upstairs. "BAKI! GET OUT OF BED!" She shouts. I laugh to myself. I could hear a "No." followed by a "So help me, if you don't get up I'll resign you from the academy and you wont become a ninja!" then I heard "Okay okay! I'm up!" Then his mom came down the stairs and smiled at me. I smile back, and continue eating. Baki comes drooping down the stairs in his pajamas. His mom sat at the table too.<br>"So how was your birthday yesterday?" She asks.  
>"Oh it was great!" I say. I tell her all about the things that happened, particularly the part when the Kazekage said happy birthday.<br>"Well sounds like you had quite a day." She says.  
>"I still can't believe I met Sasori though." Baki says.<br>"Oh that boy has quite the talent, graduating at only 7." She says.  
>"He said he was only there for two weeks!" I exclaim.<br>"Oh really? Impressive." She says.  
>"Hey Baki, lets get there early so we can get a head start." I say.<br>"Alright! I'm so gonna beat you after our week." He says.  
>"Huh? What are you talking about?" Asks his mom. Baki explained our plan. "Oh, good luck with that.. Um.. I don't know which one of you to vote for."<br>"That's okay, you should vote for Baki 'coz he's your son." I say.  
>"Oh but what about you dear?" She asks.<br>"Well, I might have a tutor who can vote for me." I say.  
>"Oh well alright. Good luck Baki. You too Ayama." She says. I nod and grab Baki's arm and we run off for the academy.<p>

At the academy our sensei's looked at us oddly because we were actually on time rather than late as usual. Even Ren was half surprised. I sit next to him. "Hi." I say. He nods.  
>"Um.. So I'll start by the role, then we're going to have some taijutsu training." Masaru says. I raise my hand. "Uh, yes, Ayama?"<br>"Can we use weapons for the taijutsu training?" I ask.  
>"Oh, you're referring to that bamboo stick are you?" He asks. I nod. "Well, using something like that <em>is<em> classified as taijutsu, so I don't see why not. The same goes for swords, you may even use kunai if you like." Everyone starts chatting happily.  
>"Heh, Ayama, sorry to say, but I'm not training with you." Ren says.<br>"I know, I wasn't going to train with you either." I say. We both laugh.  
>"Er-hem, so lets get started with the role, the sooner we get through that, the sooner we can start." Masaru says.<p>

"Phew, what a day." Ren says.  
>"Don't come walking with me, I'm going training." I say.<br>"Not waiting for Baki-kun?" He asks.  
>"Nope." I reply and start walking down the hallway - us three were always the last to leave the classrooms.<br>"We've been training like all day Ayama." Ren says.  
>"I know." I say and stop.<br>"Who did you fight?" He asks.  
>"Some guy called Minami Kiyoshi." I reply.<br>"Huh, ain't he the guy that sits up the back and never shuts up about training?" Ren asks.  
>"Yup, he was very competitive too. Unlike you, lazing around." I say.<br>"Oi, I don't laze around at all!" He says.  
>"Everytime I saw you, you were sitting around." I say.<br>"It was genjutsu!" He exclaims.  
>"Masaru-sensei said it was taijutsu training only!" I say.<br>"I was focusing my stamina!" He says.  
>"Stop making up excuses, otherwise you wont be able to beat me when out week is up." I say and continue walking. He rolls his eyes.<br>"A'ight, I don't see much point in waiting around for Baki then. I'm going off to train." He says.  
>"You do that." I call.<p>

I didn't go to the training grounds, because Baki had left his class early without us realizing, and he was practicing his Blade of Wind jutsu. I'm not sure where Ren went, it wouldn't surprise me if he was lazing around somewhere either. I walk around looking for somewhere to train, when suddenly something hit me at a blinding speed, making me fall over and tumble to the ground, another person had just ran dead into me.  
>"Ow!" I bawl.<br>"Ah, sorry." He says.  
>"R-Ren!" I question. He looks at me with the same shocked expression I had. Ren gets up off me and offers a hand. "What the hell was that?"<br>"What?" He asks.  
>"That! You just appeared out of nowhere!" I exclaim.<br>"I'm running laps." He says. "Practicing my speed."  
>"You, running laps? You made up a petty excuse so you didn't have to run laps the other day!" I mention.<br>"This is why. Once I start running, I get carried away and go at full speed, but then sometimes it's hard to see and I might accidentally run into something.. Or someone." He explains.  
>"Oh.. I never knew you were that fast. You like came out of no where!" I say.<br>"Yeah, I'm running laps to get used to it." He says.  
>"Oh, well, I'm going. See ya." I say. He nods.<br>"See ya!"

I ended up finding a nice quiet area and practiced my swinging and an offensive tactic with my bamboo stick. I was going very well, like really well, moving my arm around at the same time when I hit myself again with it, this time only in the arm so it didn't hurt _as_ much. I think that called for a short break. That's when I noticed stars in the sky. "Um.. I should get back." I mutter. I ran back to Baki's house. Apparently Baki wasn't there yet, and his parents were beginning to think our competition was 'admirational'. I decide to get an early night it. After all, I _was_ going to Sasori's house tomorrow, I couldn't wait. Hopefully he'll train me. But then again, I shouldn't get my hopes up. He _is_ a Chuunin after all. I sigh to myself as I lay in bed. There's still a chance right? But.. It wont be very high, he probably wont have any time to train me anyway, with missions and stuff. I sigh again. "Oh well.." I mutter and roll onto my side. I nuzzle my face into my pillow. Then that laugh came back again, followed by a soft voice. I kept my eyes closed to concentrate on it. I couldn't hear what the woman was saying, but the voice did sound familiar.. But where have I heard it before? '_Oh well, get some sleep. I wanna be full of energy when I visit Sasori tomorrow.._' Not long after I fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

****Chapter 7****

After getting up early, Baki is still asleep, his mom is up cooking again. It was the same usual conversation - how are you, how did you sleep etc.  
>Then I head out for Sasori's house, though, I had to go to the academy first, then follow his directions from there.<br>At his door, my heart started pounding. '_This is Sasori's house. SASORI!_' I gulp before knocking excitedly. 10 Seconds later an elderly woman answered. She blinks at me a few times.  
>"Hi.." I say.<br>".. Hi." She replies. "And what brings you here?"  
>"Um Sasori said I could come over." I say.<br>"Oh! So you're a friend of Sasori's eh? Well come in, it's nice to know my grandson is making friends." She says and steps aside to allow me in. The house was smaller than I first expected. "Follow me, Sasori is in the basement. He has hardly come out at all these past two days.. I hope he has gotten enough sleep." She explains. ".. Oh! How rude of me. I'm Chiyo."  
>"I'm Hatano Ayama." I reply.<br>"Nice to meet you Ayama-chan. I take it you're at the academy?" She asks, looking at the bamboo stick.  
>"Yup, I'm getting really good with it too!" I exclaim.<br>"Well here we are," she says stopping at a closed door and knocks on it. "Sasori?" There was a muffled voice on the other side, I could make out an "I'm busy."  
>"Your friend Ayama is here." Chiyo says. We heard a thud then a crash on the other side and the door opened up revealing a shocked expression belonging to Sasori, his brown eyes glued to Chiyo, then found me. They widened at the sight of me, then he smiles.<br>"Ayama-san!" He happily says. I smile.  
>"Hi Sasori." I replies.<br>"Hey, um, would you like to see something?" He asks.  
>"Sure!" I reply. Chiyo smiles and nods, then leaves us be. Sasori beckons to me to go inside the basement with him. Inside the door was a set of stairs and after walking down them, I was surprised at the life-size dummies hanging around, there were so many of them. I reacted with "Wow.."<br>"Hm? Oh right, yeah, these have yet to be worked on." Sasori says.  
>"There's so many." I say.<br>"Yeah, granny Chiyo found them for me. Some of them are her old puppets too, they're just out of shape and some are broken." He says.  
>"Is it fun?" I ask.<br>"Well I suppose. It does require a lot of work and concentration." He says. We come to a desk with all dismantled body parts (puppet body parts.. Not human.. That would be freaky) and wires. Sasori moves the chair and crouches down under the desk and reaches for something.  
>"Hey um Sasori?"<br>"Hm?"  
>"Me and my friends are having a competition. We're not going near each other for a week and we're going to see who can get the strongest within that week then we're gonna do a three-way spar... And um... I was wondering.." I explain, Sasori comes out from under the desk with something in his hands, but remains sitting on his legs. He faces me with a smile.<br>"You want me to train you?" He asks. I became a little shocked, but then smile.  
>"Y-yeah.." I reply and look down timidly.<br>"Sure." He says.  
>"R-really?" I ask, utterly excited. He nods happily.<br>"This is for you, uh, happy late birthday." He says. He hands me the thing in his hands which is wrapped up in bandages, apparently he had nothing else to wrap it with. I became very happy. I excitedly unwrap the bandages and there was a puppet. It is the same height at as me, I presume the rounded parts on it's chest means it's a girl - right? It had shoulder length thick, spiky brown hair, the eyes were painted green, and it was wearing a black cloth - which I think is meant to be a dress. Immediately, I fell in love.  
>"This is for me?" I question.<br>"Yeah, it's the best I could do in two days." He says. Boldly, I jump on him and give him the biggest hug I think I've ever given anyone. He seemed stunned for a moment but then briefly hugged me back. I decided to finally let go of him. "Thank you so much Sasori!" I say getting all teary eyed. This was my fourth ever present I have gotten in my entire life, and it was the best. The first was Baki's kunai, the second was Ren's bamboo stick, and the third was Baki's mom's birthday cake, but she said it wasn't a present, but I considered it one. Sasori seemed a little confused as to why I was all teary but smiled anyway.  
>"Ayama, would you like me to show you how to use it?" He asks.<br>"Yes please!" I reply. He nods and stands up and I follow him out of the basement.  
>"I'm going out Chiyo!" Sasori calls as he shuts the basement door behind me.<br>"Okay, have fun!" Chiyo calls back.

Sasori takes me to a small deserted area which I never knew existed.  
>"This is my secret training place. You can come here and train whenever you want, just as long as you don't tell anyone about it." Sasori says.<br>"Okay, thanks." I reply. Sasori crouches down beside me and puts his hand on my shoulder.  
>"So the first thing you need to do is learn how to make chakra strings." He says.<br>"Is it hard?" I ask.  
>"Well, it depends on the individual. But I think you'll be fine." He says. He pats my shoulder twice and sits down with his legs crossed. I do the same. "So listen carefully." I nod. He holds his right hand out and sticks his fingers upwards. "So hold out your hand like this." He says. I nod and do so. "Can you focus your chakra yet?"<br>"Um.. I can, but it takes a while." I say.  
>"That's okay, we're in no hurry. So focus your chakra to your fingertips like this." He says, then the glow of his chakra surrounded each of his fingertips. I stared at my fingertips and waited for that tingly feeling. I calmed my breathing down to concentrate better. "That's it." My eyes widen. I hadn't even realized there was chakra on my fingertips. "Now.." He says and looks around. "Hmm..." His eyes found a rock. "Ah." He suddenly pointed to the rock and jerked his finger back and the rock started flying towards us, he caught it. "Now this rock here, try and focus your chakra towards it and have it move." He says and puts in on the ground between us and stares intently at it. I blink a few times still realizing how it got there.<br>"Um.. Okay." I say and concentrate again. I stare at the rock and hover my hand above it. Sasori watched eagerly. The rock jumped which startled me a little.  
>"Good job." He says. I smile. I think I realized how I did it and did it again, this time, seeing my chakra strings and all five attach to the rock.<br>"I think I get it now." I say. I make the rock move in a little circle.  
>"That's good. You might be just like me, a professional at the puppetry ninja art." He says.<br>"Oh I don't think so." I say.  
>"Well I do. It would take an average person two days to get the chakra strings happening. You did it within seconds." He says. My eyes widen.<br>"Two days!" I question. He nods.  
>"Now lets see if you can get your chakra strings longer." He says. He picks up the rock and lightly throws it, it lands a few feet away. I turn around so I'm facing it. I fully concentrate and two minutes later my chakra strings reached it. Sasori seemed very proud.<br>"I did it! Sasori-sensei!" I say. He gave a shocked expression.  
>"S-sensei?" He asks.<br>"Well you're my sensei 'coz you're training me." I say. His shocked expression became a very happy expression, like I had just made his day.  
>"Hm... Thanks." He says. "Ayama, we're friends, right?"<br>"Huh? Of course!" I say. He seemed very happy. He reached his hand out, requesting a handshake. I give him one. "Then that makes you my first friend." He says. My eyes widen and I hold back a gasp.  
>"F-first?" I stutter. He nods.<br>"I.. Don't really talk to the locals much. I'm either out on missions or by myself, working on puppets." He explains. I smile, I have another friend.  
>"Then that makes you my third friend, sensei." I say. He chuckles at the sensei part. "Hey sensei?"<br>"Hm?" He replies with a smile.  
>"Can you teach me how to move the puppet?" I ask.<br>"Yep. But a puppet is much harder than a rock." He says. I jump to my feet.  
>"I'm determined!" I declare. He smiles and stands up too.<br>"Well first things first, I have to show you the different parts and where to attach your chakra strings and such. For this you might also need to use both hands." He says.  
>"So I get chakra to both hands now?" I ask. He nods. Sasori pointed to all the different spots where he wanted me to attach the strings to. Repeatedly.<p>

It took about 10 minutes before I got it right.  
>"Now just make it stand up." Sasori says. I give him a clueless look. He blinks.<br>"Uh, like this." He says, he crouches down to me height and holds his hands out in the same way I have mine. He moved a few fingers slowly, and I copied. After a rattling sound, the puppet was standing.  
>"Wow! This is cool!" I exclaim.<br>"Hm. Now for the fun part." He says.  
>"Huh?"<br>"If you experiment with different finger movements and see how the puppet reacts. I had fun with that when Chiyo taught me." He says.  
>"Okay! That sounds fun!" I exclaim, and I was being honest, it <em>did<em>sound fun.  
>Sasori started working on another puppet which I didn't realize he even had.<p>

As lunchtime came I had figured out how to make the puppet's arms move back and forth and move it's head side to side. Sasori is deeply concentrating on his puppet. Then I look at the rock. I got an idea.  
>"Sasori-sensei?" I ask.<br>"Hu- yes?"  
>"How do I make it's hands and fingers move?" I ask.<br>"Well that's a little tricky, come here and I'll show you." He says. I skip happily over to him and he explains in detail. I managed to make it's fingers twitch, then move, then close it into a fist. "You're a fast learner."  
>"Hai, only 'coz you're the best sensei." I say. He smirks then possibly realized he was hungry.<br>"Are you hungry?" He asks. My stomach answered him with a growl. We both laugh. "Alright, lets go get some lunch." He says. I smile, and he does a few hand signs and poof! The puppet disappeared and and an unraveled scroll with markings on it appeared. My eye twitched.  
>"What was that?" I ask.<br>"Hm?" Sasori looks up at me as he picks up the scroll and rolls it up. "Oh this, I store my puppets and stuff in these. It's called a summoning scroll-"  
>"Wow! We got taught about them in class but I've never seen one before! That's so cool!" I say. Sasori chuckles and stands up. He puts a hand on my head and ruffles my hair. He turns to my puppet and does a few hand signs and suddenly the puppet was wrapped up in bandages again. "Wow, you're so cool sensei!" He just laughs.<br>"Come on." He says. I nod and he carries my puppet over his shoulder with a strap of the bandages. "Are you good with that bamboo stick?"  
>"Huh? Yeah, I'm still sorta getting used to using it though. Ren gave it to me for my birthday." I say.<br>"Hm... I'll show you something with it after lunch." He says. I nod.

As we walk through the streets we passed Baki and he stared with awe at the two of us, but never approached us. I could tell he was thinking 'If she's being trained by Sasori then I have no chance'  
>"Sasori-sensei?"<br>"Yes?"  
>"I hope you can be my sensei when I graduate from the academy. You should be a Jonin by then." I say. He chuckles and ruffles my hair again - so much for brushing it - then he has a straight face as he looks down.<br>"Yeah.. Me too." He says. I became worried.  
>"Are you okay?" I ask. He looks at me straight away and smiles. I could tell it was a fake smile, but I didn't pry.<br>"Yes, I'm fine." He says. '_It's probably something private.._' "... Is there anywhere specific you would like to go for lunch?"  
>"Um, anywhere is fine." I say. He nods and we walk to the nearest cafe and have a hot lunch.<p>

As the day went on, Sasori taught me many nifty tricks with my puppet which I have now named Suki.  
>That late evening I sat with Sasori in his basement as he talked about the many things puppets can do and their advantages and stuff.<br>"Speaking of which, your bamboo stick. I cans how you how to use it like a puppet as well." Sasori says. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"My bamboo stick?" He nods. I put it on the desk, he points to the horizontal lines.<br>"If we were to slice it in a special way on these parts, then the individual parts can be controlled just like an actual puppet. I've only done it once before when I found myself in a tight position, but it was pretty effectual." He explains.  
>"But will I be able to put it back together and use it the same way?" I ask. He nods.<br>"I can cut it in a special way so it can be reassembled and disassembled. It wont really have an effect on the actual stick itself, just think of it as an upgrade." He says.  
>"Wow you're smart." I say. He chuckles.<br>"I suppose that's why I'm a Chuunin." He says.  
>"Hai."<br>"So what do you say? Shall we do it?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Yeah!" Sasori nods and pulls out a funny-looking knife and cuts through it in a weird way.<br>He did it very slowly and carefully, and it took 20 minutes. I sat patiently.

"Okay.. So you attach chakra strings to each piece," he says and does so, all the pieces lift up into the air above the desk. "then you can move them around, the faster they move the more of a force they'll have when they come into contact with something and when you get really skilled.." Sasori turns around in the chair and moves the pieces from above the desk to the center of the room. "You can put it back together." He says. I took notice of how his fingers closed together and the bamboo snapped back together, forming the stick it once was. He jerks his hand back and the stick comes flying at him. He caught it with one hand and passed it to me. I was full of awe.  
>"Sasori! Come get some dinner!" Chiyo calls. Sasori's eyes widen and he looked at the open basement door.<br>"Is it that late already?" He asks. We stand up and I follow him out into the kitchen where Chiyo had a nice soup cooking. "What time is it?" Sasori asks.  
>"Oh about 6." Chiyo replies. Sasori looks at me. "Oh, you're still here? Would you like to stay for dinner?"<br>"Yes please!" I reply, catching the aroma of the soup. Chiyo nods and serves me a bowl.

After that Sasori walked me back to Baki's house and Baki asked me many questions but I refused to answer most of them because I would've given away my training tactics. He was also very curious of the 'mummy' I was carrying on my back with my bamboo stick.  
>"So like, did you have a good day? How was Sasori? Is he as cool as they say?" Baki asks.<br>"Awesome, awesome and yes." I reply and roll over.  
>"Did he show you some skills?" He asks.<br>"Can I go to sleep? I'm tired." I groan.  
>"Aw but I'm so jealous, you get to be trained by Sasori." Baki complains, rolling onto his side to face me. But I was already asleep. I guess I was more worn out than I thought.<p>

_Ayama... Ayama! That's what we'll call her!  
>"Huh? W-what?" I ask. I try to open my eyes, I could only see two silhouettes, blurry ones. "Who are you!" I question. The two people laugh. "Who are you!" I repeat.<br>"Ayama!"  
>"Huh! What! Who are you?"<br>"Ayama!"  
>"What!"<em>

"Ayama!" My eyes snap open and I see Baki's face. "Finally, you're awake." He says.  
>"Wh... What happened?" I ask.<br>"I dunno, you were calling out to someone asking them who they are." He says.  
>"Oh..." I rub my forehead. '<em>What was that all about? Who were they?<em>'


	8. Chapter 8

****Chapter 8****

"I heard you calling out last night, are you alright?" Baki's mom asks.  
>"Yeah, it was just a.. Dream." I reply.<br>"Just a dream? If something's wrong I can help." She says.  
>"Thanks, but everything's fine." I say.<br>"Ayama, are you going to find Sasori again?" Baki asks.  
>"I dunno, I don't want to pester him too much, I'll probably just train on my own." I say.<br>"Oh, I'm so jealous, but I bet Ren would hate you even more if he found out." Baki says.  
>"... Hate me.. More?" I ask.<br>"Huh? Oh, it's just a figure of speech.. Ehhh, Sorry. That was kinda mean." He says.  
>"It's okay..."<br>"But I can't believe that Sasori actually made you a puppet, I'm jealous." Baki says. I giggle.  
>"Yeah, I still gotta get used to using it first. But for our fight I think I'll just use my bamboo stick." I say. Baki nods.<p>

"Well, see ya." Baki says.  
>"See ya!" I reply and wave to him. I then go to head off secretly to Sasori's training spot when I saw Kiyoshi walk by, he waves at my and I smile and nod.<br>"Hey Ayama." He says.  
>"Hi."<br>"What're you up to?" He asks. He starts walking beside me.  
>"I'm about to train." I reply.<br>"CAN I COME! PLEEEAAASSEEEEEEEE?" He pleads.  
>"Um.. Yeah, I don't see why not." I reply.<br>"WOOOOO! COME ON LETS TRAIN AND GET STRONG!" He shouts, throwing a fist to the air, then grabs my arm and pulls me along. I forgot how much of a training geek he was. What have I gotten myself into now?

He lead me to the training grounds where Ren was laying around. I wanted to leave, I can't train around Ren or Baki - it's our rule, we can't train around each other.  
>"Hey Kiyoshi, can we go somewhere else to train?" I ask.<br>"Huh? Why?" He asks. Ren heard our voices and looks at us. At first sight of me he jumps to his feet. I shake my head in disappointment. He raises his arms up questionably.  
>"What's going on? Aren't you two friends anymore?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"Yeah, but we're not training around each other." I say. Kiyoshi blinks a few times. I sigh and explain all about our competition (I did not mention Sasori's name otherwise Ren would've blasted me with questions). Kiyoshi's eyes widen.  
>"That sound fun! Can I join?" He asks. Then pouts in a pleading manner.<br>"Um.." I look at Ren who walks up to us.  
>"What do you think?" Ren asks.<br>"I dunno, I don't mind, what about you?" I ask.  
>"Meh, fine with me, but we gotta check with Baki." Ren asks. "It's his idea after all!"<br>"Hai. You go find him." I say.  
>"Wha-why me!"<br>"Because you're faster." I say. He didn't want to argue there so he nodded and disappeared in a flash.  
>"Lets start training then." I say. Kiyoshi nods. I get my bamboo stick out from my sash and swing it around skillfully. Kiyoshi knew my techniques from the taijutsu lesson in class when we sparred last.<p>

When Ren and Baki came back to the training grounds, me and Kiyoshi were in a serious spar, fully concentrating. He had been practicing his taijutsu and he is very good, he is managing to block all my strikes with the bamboo which I can move around really fast. I was thinking about the technique Sasori taught me but i didn't want to reveal my hidden technique to them. Yet.  
>They stood by and watched. I was determined to win. But then again, so was he. The fight got more and more intense (for us) as it went on.<br>"SASORI-SENPAI!" Ren almost screams. His name clicked in my head and I turn my head to the side and saw Sasori standing there. He has his arms folded and smiling at me, he raised a hand to wave. I smile back excitedly. I can show off to Sasori-sensei! Kiyoshi didn't let anything distract him, and he almost landed a hit which I only just managed to avoid. I continue focusing on the fight.

As it dragged on, Sasori was beginning to wonder why I didn't try the whole puppet thing with my bamboo, but continued watching without saying a word. Ren was focused on Sasori more than the fight as he stood there and stared at Sasori drooling - which probably made Sasori feel uncomfortable. But who would blame him?

I began to get exhausted but Kiyoshi seemed like he could go on for days. Though he was breaking a sweat. Just then he missed a punch and I quickly whack my bamboo against his head really hard (unintentional! I swear!) and he fell face first to the ground and grunted. I stood there panting for a second to catch my breath then crouch down to him, he curled up into a ball holding the back of his head where I hit him.  
>"Kiyoshi, are you... Alright?" I pant.<br>"Yeah.. That just kinda hurt.." He pants back.  
>"Sorry.." I say.<br>"No, don't be.. You won. You should be happy." He says, regaining his breath and sitting up. The other three come up to us.  
>"Good job Ayama." Sasori says. I look up at him and smile. I stand up.<br>"Thanks Sasori-se-... Sasori." I reply. He tilts his head to the side and I point to the others with a jerk of my head and he nods. "Got any missions?"  
>"Nope. Not today." He replies.<br>"Hey Sasori-senpai!" Ren says, jumping up and down beside him. I think Sasori was getting annoyed being called senpai.  
>"... What?" Sasori replies.<br>"You should be our proctor when we have our spar!" Ren suggests.  
>"Oh that would be cool." Baki says. Sasori looks back at me.<br>"What do you think?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Sounds cool." I reply.<br>"Alright then." Sasori replies.  
>"So um.. What's your name?" Baki asks Kiyoshi.<br>"So you're Baki. I'm Minami Kiyoshi."  
>"I see.. And you're Ayama's friend?" Baki asks.<br>"Uh, I guess." Kiyoshi replies.  
>"... Yeah, Kiyoshi's my friend." I say. Kiyoshi smiles at me.<br>"But they just sparred, they'll know each others weaknesses and stuff." Ren says.  
>"Well then why not have a mini tournament. Ayama against one of you two, and Kiyoshi against the other?" Sasori suggests. Ren claps his hands together once.<br>"That. Is so smart Sasori-senpai!" Ren exclaims.  
>"... What was your name again?" Sasori asks.<br>"Huh! ... I'm.. Ren.." He replies and looks down like he was offended.  
>"That's right. Ren, could you please stop calling me senpai? It's a little annoying." Sasori says. Ren looks up at him.<br>"Sorry." He says. Sasori nods.  
>"Well, we shall do what Sasori said." Baki says. Kiyoshi leaps into the air cheering.<br>"Wooo!"  
>"Now remember, Saturday, here, early morning." Baki says.<br>"Hai." Everyone answered.

The week seemed to fly by. During class we mostly got taught about ninjutsu for that week, and after class if Sasori wasn't on a mission I would train with him - well, he would train me and he taught me how to so the puppet-controlling part of my bamboo, I'm still a little rough, but I can perform it pretty good - after all, Sasori is like _the_ best sensei ever!

So it came, Saturday morning. I walk with Baki to the training grounds where Ren just appeared from out of no where, obviously he has been keeping up with his agility training, and Kiyoshi was there too, but already into it, punching one of the wooden posts as a "warm up".  
>"I still want a four-way brawl." Ren says.<br>"That would be hectic... Lets do it." I say. We all nod on it.  
>"Lets all stand in one corner and go from there." Baki says - he seemed a little jumpy too. I'd have to ask him about it later. So we all took a corner of the training field and got into fighting stances. I drew my bamboo stick, Baki had his hands ready for a ninjutsu -I can guess which one too-, Kiyoshi had his fists ready to knock out anything in his way, and Ren was moving back and forth really fast from led to leg. We all observed each other closely, determining each others moves. It was then that Sasori arrived. He looks at us all, realizing we have changed our minds about the whole tournament thing and sat aside as the "proctor".<br>"Let the match commence!" Sasori calls from the bench he's sitting on.  
>"Chaaaaaa!" Kiyoshi shouts as we all run into combat. My swinging has gotten a lot faster too, I swing it around trying to hit them, Kiyoshi appeared to have no problem avoiding and threw punches and kicks at Ren who proved to be too fast for him and me at the same time and Baki was forming some hand signs. Once seeing me coming for him, Baki put both hands together in a jutsu sign and blew some really strong wind from his mouth, blowing me and Kiyoshi backwards, Ren's stamina allowed him to run against it somehow. I was really surprised at how strong that jutsu actually was. Ren was eventually blown back too, he landed right on top of me, which kinda hurt.<br>"Ow, get off fatty." I gush and throw him off.  
>"I'm not fat! It's muscle! Muscle weighs more than fat!" Ren exclaims.<br>"Ren is right, but he is not muscly." Kiyoshi scoffs in a friendly way. Ren frowned at him. I used this chance. *Whack* Ren fell to the floor.  
>"OW!" He bawls.<br>"You let your guard down!" I exclaim and jump over him to get to Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi blocked my first attack but my speed picked up and I managed to whack his side. He grunted and I whacked him again, making him fall over. While those two were grunting and groaning while trying to get back up (bamboo hurts you know... trust me) I face Baki with determination. He grins and does some more hand signs. I run up to him then unexpectedly jump above him. He looked left then right really fast then looked up to see me about to hit him and he suddenly did a commando roll, dodging my attack completely. He swung his foot around, hitting my ankle, which made me fall over. He managed to get the bamboo stick out of my grasp, just out of reach and he kicked it away before I could get to it. He smiles victoriously. I jump to my feet, he doesn't know my hidden technique, yet, but he was about to find out. I send kicks to keep his mind occupied while I secretly sent chakra strings to my bamboo stick. He knocked me to the ground again, and I jerked my hand toward me, Baki didn't seem to take much notice, and the bamboo stick came flying back to me. Baki was too focused on trying to finish me off to notice the bamboo stick flying at his head. *Whack* It sent him flying sideways and I stand up with it in hand.  
>"OW!" He grunts. I chuckle victoriously. The three rose to their feet slowly and groaning, they looked exactly like zombies. '<em>Time for my secret move to finish them all off.<em>' I glimpse at Sasori who realized that's what I was planning. He smiles and nods. I attach chakra strings to each block secretly, and they all look at me weirdly. Why was I standing there doing nothing? I break the bamboo into the individual blocks and swing my arms around, the blocks obeyed my movements, by that time they just realized there are flying bamboo parts and as they tried to think of a way to react, it was too late. The blocks whack them all, making them fall over again.  
>"I WIN!" I scream and snap the bamboo back into the stick and put it back through my sash. They laid on the ground groaning in pain. They were gonna have some nice bruises in the morning.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

****Chapter 9****

"Baki! Wait up!" I call.  
>"Hm?" He stops limping and turns around to face me. "Thanks a lot Ayama."<br>"H-huh?" He winces in pain then looks away.  
>"My graduation exams are on monday. If I don't recover I might fail them." He grumbles. Now I felt bad.<br>"Baki. I know you." I say. He looks at me. "You'll pass them. I know you will." He smiles.  
>"Thanks Ayama. Ngh.. You really did get me good though." He says, rubbing his head.<br>".. I would've been gentler if I knew your graduation exams are coming up so soon." I say.  
>"It's okay, don't worry about it." He says. He throws his arm over my shoulders and pulls me close. "That's what friends are for, right?"<br>"Yeah. I'm sorry." I say. He nods.  
>"You're forgiven.. I guess I just overreacted." He says.<br>"Nah, that would've hurt." I say. He chuckles.  
>"I'm surprised you didn't knock me out with that thing." He laughs. We had no idea Sasori was watching us, watching with a tint of jealousy. After being around Sasori so long and hardly around my other friends, we've become attached to each other. Now things are going back to normal, I'll probably be around my other friends a lot more. I was unaware of this.<p>

"Haha, son, you're laughable. Getting beaten up by a girl, ha!" Baki's dad scoffs. Baki frowns at him and his mother hits him.  
>"Be nice, at least he tried." She gushes.<br>"He was really good!" I exclaim. Baki smiles at me. His mom lays him down on the couch with an ice back (or a few) behind his head and the other places I hit him hard.  
>"Now you rest up Baki." She says and pecks him on the forehead, embarrassing him because I was in the room.<br>"Hm. You've got graduation on monday, can't fail that." His dad mentions. Baki just sighs. "Do you think you're ready son?"  
>"Hai." He replies. His dad nods, proud of his son. He turns to me and holds out his hand.<br>"And you. Congratulations on winning that fight. Managing to beat three others and you're only 7. Impressive." He says. I shake his hand, and he shook mine as if I was a man - it hurt, but I showed no pain, only winced. "I wouldn't be surprised if you graduate soon too."  
>"Hai. Thank you." I say. He nods and leaves. Baki's mom pats me on the head on her way past.<br>"Yes, you did a good job teaching those boys a lesson." She says.  
>"Lesson?" I ask.<br>"That girls aren't as weak as they thought of course! I did that to my teammates when I was a Genin." She says. "Ah.. The good old days." She starts ranting on about some memory as she walks away. Baki rolls his eyes. I wonder. If I had parents, would they be like his? I wonder what life would be like to have a mom and a dad.

Sunday passed really quickly. For me anyway. Baki was in so much pain, he had black and blue spots all over him, Ren and Kiyoshi were worse. And me, I have a scar or two on my cheek and some scratches and one bruise on my leg and ankle where Baki kicked me. It forced me to limp a lot the whole day. I mostly sat with Baki and we slept pretty much the whole day.

On monday in class, I was excited for Baki. I constantly drew my mind to him, wondering how he is going. His determined look this morning when he shot out of bed says it all I guess.  
>"Ayama?"<br>'_I wonder what he's doing now.._'  
>"Ayama!"<br>'_I wonder if they're hard.. I hope he graduates._'  
>"AYAMA!" Masaru shouts, snapping me into reality.<br>"Huh! Y-yes?" I ask, noticing every single person in the room is staring at me. (Kiyoshi sits with me and Ren now) Masaru sighs and shakes his head.  
>"Pay attention wont you?" He grumbles.<br>"Uh, sorry." I reply.  
>"Now can you come and demonstrate?" He asks. I blink a few times.<br>"Demonstrate what, sir?" I ask. He huffs of irritation and Ren groans beside me.  
>"The puppetry technique." He says. "Ren said you were good, so I want you to show the class." I sigh and stand up and slowly make my way down the front. "So, Ayama. This puppet here, I want you to at least make it stand up, okay?" I give him a look as if to say 'are you kidding me?'.<br>"Sir, that's not a puppet. It's a marionette.. Without strings." I say. He raises his eyebrow.  
>"Of course it is. That's why this is the perfect practice thing for puppetry. It's simple and so suits with your skill level." He says, speaking about the whole class. I roll my eyes.<br>"Whatever." I grumble. "... Are you going to put it down or not?"  
>"Hm? Ayama, I am holding it because your skill level wont be able to reach it on the floo-" I grab it out of his hands and throw it. His eye twitches and nearly everyone in the classroom gasps and they mutter amongst themselves. "What is the meaning of this!"<br>"Sir, you said you want me to demonstrate. So shut up and let me demonstrate." I hiss. He glares at me. I look at the small marionette laying on the other side of the room. It took me literally one second to create and attach my chakra strings to it. I used only one hand because it was so small. I jerk my hand back and it comes flying toward me. Then I move my hand so it stops. A few finger movements later it was throwing punches and kicks and doing somersaults. Masaru and the entire class, watched in awe.  
>"Wh.. Where did you learn to do that?" Masaru questions.<br>"... From the best sensei in the world." I reply and control the marionette to sit on his hand then detach my strings and it flops over, lifeless.  
>"Who would that be?" He asks.<br>"That I can't say sir. Personal reasons." I say. He gives me a thoughtful look before allowing me to sit down again.  
>"Show off." Ren hisses. I smirk.<p>

"AYAMA!"  
>"BAKI!"<br>"I DID IT!"  
>"I KNEW YOU COULD!" The two of us embrace in the biggest bear hugs ever. Ren shook his head as if he's embarrassed to be around us and Kiyoshi smiles at us.<br>"Do you like it?" Baki asks, showing me his brand new Suna headband around the cloth he wears around his head all the time.  
>"It looks awesome!" I exclaim.<br>"Hai! And we'll be finding out our squads and stuff tomorrow!"  
>"Aw, now you get to go on missions and stuff." I complain and pout. He laughs and pats me on the shoulder. I turn to Kiyoshi and Ren and point at them with both hands. They tilt their heads to the side. "You two! We are gonna train our butts off and graduate really soon!" They grin.<br>"Damn right!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Who's hungry?" Kiyoshi asks.<p>

We went to a restaurant (kids eat free hehe) and had a celebration party for Baki. "And then she threw it, and then she like showed off and stuff." Ren exclaims.  
>"Haha, you're really funny Ayama." Baki chuckles. I smile.<br>"That I am." I say. Ren punches my shoulder playfully. I grin at him. Kiyoshi just wouldn't stop eating. It's seriously a good thing we don't have to pay. For someone that trains 247 he sure does eat a whole lot.  
>"We should get Baki some graduation presents." Kiyoshi suggests between a breath before filling his mouth again.<br>"Oh no, guys. It's fine. I already got enough praise, thanks guys." Baki says. I smirk at him. I was gonna be evil. I stand up with my arm in the air, then bring it down to point at Baki.  
>"Everyone!" I say. They all look at me. Kiyoshi temporarily stops eating. "As Baki's friends, we will get him graduation presents!" Ren and Kiyoshi clap their hands and cheer.<br>"Get Baki-kun presents!" Kiyoshi and Ren cheer. I clap as well. Baki glares at me. I smile at him evilly.  
>"Oi, lets go train!" Kiyoshi says, putting an empty bowl down (5th bowl).<br>"Kiyoshi, can we let our food settl-"  
>"Train!" I exclaim (still standing up), Kiyoshi stands up and we hi-five each other and take off. Baki and Ren roll their eyes and slowly get up to follow us.<p>

Ren and Baki sat and watched as me and Kiyoshi fought. We just kept fighting all evening, until eventually the moon could be seen and the sun was just about to disappear. Ren had gone.  
>"Ayama, Kiyoshi, are you done yet?" Baki asks. We were just about to finish, we are both exhausted. We go to throw a punch at each other but our arms gave out and the swinging motion of our bodies made us bump into each other and we fell over panting.<p>

_"Good job Ayama."  
>"Huh? S-Sasori?"<br>"Hm?"  
>"Wh.. Where are you?" I ask, looking around the dark place.<br>"I'm right beside you." He replies. I felt a hand touch my shoulder. "You seem troubled, what is it?"  
>"I'm troubled? I don't think so Sasori-san." I reply.<br>"Hm, you just do, is there anything at all?" He asks.  
>".. Well, I have had these dreams and there are two people who keep calling my name but I can't see their faces and I think I've heard their voices before but I don't know where." I explain.<br>"Dreams you say.. Maybe it's a memory." He suggests.  
>"A memory?"<br>"Hm. When my parents were killed I had many dreams of them. Memories." He says. "Ayama... I need to tell you something."  
>"What is it?"<br>"I don't know how I should tell you... I suppose I'll start from the start. In 3 years I'll-"_

"Ayama, wake up sleepy head." Baki says, shaking me. I open my eyes at his frowning face. "I fell asleep and woke up to see you and Kiyoshi sleeping and hugging each other..." My eyes widen as I notice me and Kiyoshi are still hugging.  
>"GAAAH!" I jump up, unintentionally knocking Baki over and it woke Kiyoshi up too, he also jumped to his feet in a fighting stance.<br>"Who! What! Huh?" Kiyoshi questions, looking around with wide eyes. I brush the dirt off my shirt and pick up my bamboo stick and slip through my sash.  
>"What time is it?" I ask.<br>"I dunno." Baki shrugs. I face Kiyoshi.  
>"Who won?" I ask.<br>"I dunno. I feel asleep." Baki replies.  
>"I did, of course." Kiyoshi says. I blink.<br>"I don't think so." I reply.  
>"I believe so." He says.<br>"Nah."  
>"Yeah."<br>"Nah!"  
>"YEAHH!"<br>"NA-"  
>"Knock it off!" Baki grumbles. "Ayama lets go home."<br>"Aight." I reply. "Good night Kiyoshi-san."  
>"Good night Ayama-san."<p>

"You two are out late.." Baki's mom says. We stare at her with disappointment. "Oh.. Hahaha, I was kidding. Get to bed."  
>"Eh." Baki shrugs and we both go to bed.<p>

The next morning I was the first one up. Again. After the usual morning routine, I head for the academy. I go past Sasori on the way there.  
>".. Ayama." He says. I stop and face him.<br>"Oh, Sasori! Hi!" I reply, happy to see him again. He smiles and nods.  
>"How are you?" He asks.<br>"Good! Hey guess what! Baki graduated yesterday!" I exclaim. He gives a smile.  
>".. That's great... I wouldn't be surprised if you graduate soon too." He says. I smile and nod.<br>"Yep! Thanks Sasori! I gotta get going though, maybe I can see you after class." I say. He nods.  
>"Sure. I'll be home." He says.<br>"Okay, see ya!" I say and run off, waving back at him. He raises his hand to wave then continues walking.

"Ninjutsu practice. Everyone get outside." Masaru orders.  
>"Yes!" I cheer. Me and Kiyoshi loved doing ninjutsu, and we hi-five each other and Ren rolls his eyes, he prefers taijutsu. We all head outside and line up.<br>"Today we'll be doing clone jutsu. Now you all know the signs." Masaru says. We all groan and complain. "Only, this time we'll be making proper clones other than the illusional clones you've made."  
>"Proper clones? You mean ones that can like, fight and stuff?" Asks a boy from the class.<br>"Yes. There are many different types. The most common one is shadow clones. But there can be such clones as rock clones, water clones, fire clones and even sand clones."  
>"Sand clones? Whoa that's cool!" Ren exclaims.<br>"Yes, but you have to be a sand controller to do such. I do know our Kazekage has a magnetism chakra type. He can manipulate sand by the iron in it." Masaru explains. "Thus, he should be able to create sand clones."  
>"I really love our Kazekage! He's like the strongest Kazekage in the history of Sunagakure!" Ren exclaims.<br>"That he is Ren." Masaru says. "I have also had another student just a few years ago who can control gold dust in a way that is basically the same way as controlling sand. It would not surprise me if he ended up being next Kazekage." Everyone reacts with awe.  
>"I can beat him!" Kiyoshi exclaims. Everyone faces him like he's an idiot. "I'd set him on fire! Watch this! Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kiyoshi breaths out a massive fireball that hit Masaru and set him on fire, burning him.<br>"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Masaru shouts in pain.  
>"D-Don't worry sir! I-I've got it!" Shouts the shy person in the class. "Water style: Water Gun Jutsu!" She shoots a ball of water from her mouth which upon hitting the teacher, knocked him over from the force. It put the fire out at least. Masaru laid on the ground groaning in pain. We all kinda stood there not knowing what to do.<br>"We like.. Killed our sensei." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Maybe we should get some medics. Those burns look pretty bad Kiyoshi." I say.<br>"Heh, I'm so good." Kiyoshi chuckles. Ren hits him over the back of his head.  
>"Baka. I'll be right back." Ren says, looking at me. I nod and he takes off. That boy sure has great speed. There was a moment of silence.<br>"... Does this mean we get the day off?" Asks one of the class-members. Everyone looks at each other then turns to Masaru laying on the ground in pain.  
>"I guess so." Replies another. Everyone cheers and jumps away, except for me.<p>

I wait for Ren to come back with the medic so we can train together for the entire day. Aren't we just the best students Masaru-sensei could ask for?


	10. Chapter 10

****Chapter 10****

"Yeah, I'm pretty worn out too." Ren says, panting.  
>"Lets take a break." I suggest. "After all.. If we keep this up.. We're sure to graduate soon too!"<br>"Yes!" He cheers. I smile, this reminded me of my spar with Kiyoshi yesterday, then that dream... "What's up? You look like you just realized something."  
>"Uh.. Yeah. Ren sorry, I gotta go check something." I say. He nods.<br>"Yeah, I'm hungry, I'm gonna go find Kiyoshi and get some food." He says. We both nod and jump off in separate directions.

I finally found Sasori, he was coming through the arch that leads in and out of the village. "Sasori!" I call then run up to him and give him a bear hug. He laughs and gives me a quick hug back.  
>"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." He says. I let go of him and walk beside him.<br>"Did you just get back from a mission?" I ask.  
>"Hm, and how has your day been?... It's a bit early to be out of the academy yet isn't it?" He asks, looking up at the sun's position. I chuckle.<br>"Kiyoshi set our teacher on fire so now he's in the hospital and we get the day off." I explain.  
>"Did he allow that?" He asks.<br>"I dunno. I've been training with Ren since." I say.  
>"Good. The more you train, the more likely you'll graduate sooner." He says. I nod.<br>"You've told me that heaps of times! That's why I've been training harder than ever!" I exclaim. He laughs and nods.  
>"That's good. Soon you'll be a Chuunin like me." He says. I shake my head, confusing him.<br>"I'm gonna be Jonin!" I say. He smiles.  
>"I hope so." He says, ruffling my hair. I wanted to bring it up without seeming suspicious, but perhaps being a dream, he probably has no idea about the whole thing. "Something on your mind?"<br>"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking." I reply. He nods. "Hey Sasori, what does it mean when you have a dream, and you talk to someone and they answer your questions?" He gives me a blank look.  
>"You had a dream like that?" He asks. I nod, I explain to him about the dreams I've had about those two voices then say he was the one who told me they could be memories, I watch his expression to see if he knows about it. Apparently he didn't. "Hm.." He got a slightly worried expression. "Was there anything else I said?" I look down. I may as well tell the truth, after all, he <em>is<em> my closest friend.  
>"Well, you <em>did<em> say something, but I woke up before you could finish." I explain. He gasps slightly.  
>"What.. Did I say?"<br>"Well you said you had to tell me something then you didn't know where to.. start.." I notice he raises an eyebrow in concern. "Um.. then you said 'in 3 years' then I was woken up." I notice a drop of sweat run down his face.  
>"Is that all?" He asks. I nod.<br>"Pretty much."  
>"I see." He looks relieved. "Hm.. Maybe something is going to happen in three years."<br>"Yeah maybe, hey Sasori! I think I can take you on now!" I exclaim. He just smiles at me. "I've trained hard with Suki!"  
>"Haha, I bet you have. Though I think you've still got a ways to go before you reach my level." He sniggers.<br>"I can beat you!" I declare. He just chuckles.  
>"Come on, we'll go report my mission then we can see." He says. I nod and follow him to the Kazekage's building.<p>

I haven't been there before, and it's HUGE! It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! Well, that's what I think anyway. Sasori leads me around this giant place, there are so many people in here, then we stop in the front of a door near the top of the building. Sasori knocks on it.  
>"Come in." Calls the Kazekage. Sasori turns the doorknob and we go in. The Kazekage looks up from his paperwork. "Hm? Ah. Sasori-san, that was fast, I suppose I should get your rewar- who's this?"<br>"S-sir, I'm Hatano Ayama." I reply.  
>".. It was her birthday nearly two weeks ago, you wished her happy birthday when you visited the academy." Sasori explains, seeing his blank expression.<br>"Ah, yes. I recall that. So, Ayama-chan, how is your training coming along?"  
>"Great! I can take on Sasori!" I exclaim. Sasori sniggers to himself and the Kazekage laughs. I was beginning to feel very underestimated.<br>"Ah, alright. Sasori, here's your reward money." He says, holding out an envelope to Sasori. Sasori steps forward and takes it.  
>"Thank you." He says then turns around, headed for the door. I quickly bow to the Kazekage before rushing after him.<p>

"Ayama. Would you like to come over?" Sasori asks. I nod happily.  
>"I'd love to!" I say. So we head for his house. Apparently Sasori has a well out the back of his house where Chiyo likes to fish.<br>"Granny Chiyo, I'm home." Sasori calls out to her. I saw another old man there too. I wonder if he is Chiyo's husband. Chiyo didn't respond. Sasori sighs and goes outside, I follow. The old man looks at the two of us. He's creepy, I can't even see his eyes.  
>"That you Sasori? And I see you've got a friend, how nice." He says. Sasori nods.<br>"Yeah, this is Hatano Ayama, Ayama, this is my granduncle Ebizo." Sasori says.  
>"Well well, nice to meet you Ayama." Ebizo says. I nod.<br>"You too." I say. We all turn our attention to Chiyo.  
>"Chiyo? Chiyo you've go a bite... Chiyo?... Are you dead?" Ebizo asks. Just then Chiyo bursts out laughing, scaring Ebizo.<br>"Gahaha, got you then Ebizo!" She cackles. "Hm? Oh, Sasori, back already? Oh and hello Ayama."  
>"Hello." I reply.<br>"Come on Ayama." Sasori says, putting his hand on my shoulder. I follow him back inside.

Sasori and I go back into his basement and I swear there are more puppets than before.  
>".. Doesn't that get heavy?" Sasori asks. I just realized I was carrying my puppet and bamboo stick on my back. I blink a few times, trying to figure out if it's heavy or not.<br>"... No, not really." I reply.  
>"I'll just grab my puppet then we can see who's stronger." He says. I nod.<br>"I'm gonna beat you!" I declare. He chuckles.

After heading to his secret training place we get our puppets out.  
>"Hm, you have certainly improved." He says, referring to my chakra strings.<br>"Hey! How come you have two puppets!" I question.  
>"Hm? Oh these two are my favorites, couldn't decide which one so I grabbed both." He says with a happy face.<br>"But.. That's not fair.." I complain.  
>"Alright alright, I'll use this one." Sasori says. "By the way, I call this one the mother and this one the father. I made them in memory of my parents.."<br>"Oh.. What happened?" I ask.  
>"They were killed by Hatake Sakumo, also known as the White Fang." He says. "But.. That doesn't matter now, I have these two puppets to give me the same comfort they did."<p>

"And now you. Ayama. You're a good friend." He says. I smile.  
>"Thanks, you're an awesome friend too, Sasori." I say.<br>"Then I shall fight with the father." He says, putting the other puppet back inside the scroll it was in. "Now then.. If you think you can beat me, prove it now." He says. I smirk.  
>"Okay!" I reply then charge Suki towards him. He stood still until Suki came close before blocking her with his puppet. He then maneuvered his puppet around Suki and towards me. I recalled Suki to block it but he was too quick. I ended up jump to the side to dodge it. I make Suki attack his puppet then as it's down, I make her charge at Sasori again.<br>Just before it hit him something grabbed my wrists. It was his puppet. Then it's mouth started moving as it spoke. "Perhaps you're not quite at my level yet." It says. I was really freaked out. Since when could puppets talk! "I guess this means I win"  
>"N-no! I haven't given up yet!" I exclaim, acknowledging the fact that his puppet can talk. I go to break out of it's grip.. No prevail. For a puppet, it's grip sure was good.<br>"Heheh.. You were saying?" It spoke again. My eye twitches. I send I kick up to it's face, expecting it's grip to weaken, but that was pretty useless. "That still wont work."  
>"Tch.."<br>"And you just lost control of Suki." It says. It was right, I just realized my chakra strings were gone. "Does this mean I win now?"  
>"No!"<br>"Hm? But it seems I have. Your arms can't move so there's not much you can really do."  
>"Heh, that's what you think." I snigger.<br>"Hm?" I twist my hands around to grab the arms of the puppets and pull them off. Apparently Sasori wasn't expecting this, and I threw them aside.  
>"Now your puppet is armless!" I exclaim, then regain control of Suki to punch Sasori, but he easily evades, then disappears. He reappeared behind me and grabbed me.<br>"But I'm not." He whispers into my ear, scaring the crap out of me. "Do I win now?" I look down. His hold is stronger than the puppet.  
>"Yeah.." I grumble. He chuckles and lets me go.<br>"Though I must admit, I never expected you to rip it's arms clean off." He laughs and goes to pick up his puppet.  
>"Sorry." I say.<br>"It's a two second job to fix." He says.  
>"Oh really?"<br>"Mmhm. Come, lets go back to my house." He says.  
>"'Kay!" I learned the jutsu to wrap my puppet back into it's bandages, so I do that and carry it on my back as we walk back to his house.<p>

In the basement Sasori lays out his puppet and begins fixing it. In the meantime I sit at my desk that Sasori got me and modified my puppet.  
>"There we are." Sasori says randomly. I turn my chair around (it's a swingy chair :D) and face him. He had repaired the puppet already. I blink a few times to realize he actually has fixed it, after all, it's only been 4 minutes. I think my jaw was close to falling off. ".. What?"<br>"N-nothing." I reply and swing back around on my chair. He chuckles and walks over to see what I'm doing. "Look, I'm putting secret blades in here." I say.  
>"I see, be careful not to cut yourself." He says.<br>"Heh, that wont happ- OW!"  
>"Ayama!" I stick my finger in my mouth. "D-don't do that, here, I'll fix it." I take my finger out of my mouth then all I could taste was blood, I look down at my finger, I sliced down my entire finger, no wonder it hurt, and is covered in blood. Sasori grabs something out of his pocket and sits it on the table and pulls out a cloth and wraps it around my finger. "Just leave it there for a minute." He says. I try my hardest to hold back that tear that is threatening to leak. Sasori takes out some sort of ointment and unwraps the now red cloth. "Um.. I hate to do this.. It might hurt." He says. I nod bravely.<br>"I can handle it." I declare. Sasori gives me a doubtful look before dipping two of his fingers in it then holding my hand with his other hand. I brace myself. "Gaaargrh!"  
>"Tch.. Sorry Ayama." He says, running the ointment up my finger. Tears leak uncontrollably from my eyes. "It's all done now." He says, then wraps my finger up in a bandage. I quickly wipe away the tears. Sasori strokes my hair. "It's alright Ayama, I wont think any less of you for crying. It hurts me too." I look at him kinda shocked.<br>"It.. hurts you?" I ask. He nods and stands up straight.  
>"That's right. Only.. If granny Chiyo does it, she's really rough." He says. Sasori chuckles and shakes his head. "You should be a little more careful."<br>"Hmph." I look the other way, pouting. He just laughs.  
>"Lets get this blood cleaned up." He says, grabbing the blood-stained cloth and wiping the drips off the table.<br>"... You should've seen your face." I snigger. He laughs and shakes his head.

"Kiyoshi, Chikari, DETENTION!" Masaru shouts.  
>"WHAT!" Kiyoshi roars. Chikari looks down. I stand up.<br>"Sir, Chikari-san is the one who saved you!" I imply.  
>"AYAMA! DETENTION!" Masaru screams. Ren grabs my arm and pulls me back down.<br>"Would you shut it!" He hisses. I didn't know which one to glare at.  
>"NOW, AS FOR YESTERDAY, I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE LOT OF YOU! BECAUSE OF THIS, THE WHOLE CLASS WILL BE DOING THEORY!" Masaru shouts.<br>"WHAT!" Ren complains.  
>"REN! DETENTION!" Masaru screams, pointing at him. I punch him in the arm.<br>"Good on ya." I mutter.

"Ayama? Why are you here?" Katzumi asks. I look at him.  
>"Hey, aren't you Baki's teacher?" I ask. He nods.<br>"Was, he's graduated and is a Genin now." He says. ".. Did you get in trouble?"  
>"... Sorta."<br>"Next time, don't show up so late to detention." He grumbles. I roll my eyes and join the boys up the back of the classroom.  
>"Good one Ayama." Kiyoshi chuckles.<br>"Yeah, you know what he's like with being on time." Ren says.  
>"Besides that, I never expected someone who is apparently advancing in class to get detention." Says one of the boys. I look at him.<br>"Who are you?" I ask.  
>"Heh, I'm Daibuta. And I've heard all about you." He says.<p>

"Don't look at me! I barely know this guy." Kiyoshi says, raising his hands innocently. I glare at Ren. His blank expression shows his ignorance. I roll my eyes and sigh.  
>"I told him." Says the other boy.<br>"And who are you?" I ask, noting his black fringe covers both his eyes, I think I've seen him before somewhere.  
>"Kujirako." He replies. ".. I'm in your class." He says.<br>"Haha, I am too in fact, but I never take notice of anyone." Daibuta says. "I sleep."  
>"Yeah, through the whole class." Kujirako says.<br>"Wait, then how are you two in detention? I never heard Masaru-sensei mention your names." I say. They look at each other.  
>"It's just a natural thing." Kujirako says.<br>"As a matter of fact, I shall sleep now, it'll pass the time quicker." Daibuta says, and lays down across the table. Ren, who is sitting beside him lays down also.  
>"Count me in." He says. Kiyoshi, Kujirako and I laugh.<br>"U-uhm.. E-excuse me? Ayama-san?"  
>"Huh?" I stop laughing and turn my head to the side. Chikari. I jump down off the table and stand in front of her, I feel happy when I'm taller than someone. "What's up?" She looks down and presses her fingers together nervously.<br>"Um.. I just.. wanted t-to um.. s-say thanks." She stutters, her quiet voice was hard enough to hear then alone her stuttering.  
>"Uh.. It's fine." I say, pretending to hear what she said. She looks at me with those purple eyes of hers.<br>"U-um.. Thanks... M-Masaru-sensei isn't that easily um.." She stops and looks down again with a loss for words. I heard her loud and clear that time.  
>"Heh, it's no biggy, I just didn't want you to get in trouble, after all, you were only helping." I say. He timidly nods. Ren was noticing how much I have changed since joining the academy. I playfully punch her shoulder, and she winces. "Oh. Sorry!" She bites her lip. This is what I get for hanging out with only boys - I become rough as heck.<br>"N-no, it's fine.. It didn't really h-hurt... I just... didn't expect it." She stutters.  
>"Eh, aight." I reply.<br>"Um.. That was all..." She says and turns around and lets her bright blonde bangs curtain her face. "Um.. Thanks again.." She says and goes back to where she was sitting on the other side of the classroom with a group of girls who grimace at me - probably because I hit her. Ren lays back down and Kiyoshi jumps up and punches my arm.  
>"Tch, what?" I ask, hiding the small amount of pain.<br>"You don't punch girls." He says. I frown at him.  
>"You just punched me." I grumble.<br>"Haha, you totally suck Kiyoshi." Kujirako laughs. Kiyoshi huffs. I punch him back.  
>"Yeah!" I concur. He rolls his eyes and I jump back on the table and sit on it and Kiyoshi sits back down on the seat.<br>"Huh? What did you do there?" Kujirako asks, pointing at my finger. For someone with hair covering his eyes, he could sure see good.  
>"Oh um.. I.. cut myself." I admit. Kiyoshi cracks up laughing and Kujirako pounds him, knocking him out of his chair. I could see where this was heading.<br>"Don't laugh at her injuries! Baka!" Kujirako gushes. Kiyoshi glares back at him. The girls gasp and stand up, watching in fright. Kiyoshi jumps to his feet and swings at Kujirako, but he avoids it and knees his stomach. Kiyoshi lands on his back then rolls onto his side, grasping his stomach.  
>"Hey, that was uncalled for." I hiss. I think he rolled his eyes.<br>"Argh!" Kiyoshi punches him in the face, sending him into the window, but not through it. The window shattered and Kujirako landed on the ground. The sound of the glass shattering and hitting the ground caught everyone's attention, even Ren and Daibuta sit up.  
>"Hey! Settle down over there!" Katzumi scowls. "What the heck do you think you're doing!"<br>"He started it!" Kiyoshi exclaims, pointing at Kujirako who had no worry in the world. The girls all quiver in fear.  
>"Violence is not tolerated in this academy! Do you want to be in more trouble!" Katzumi bellows.<br>"Kuji-san! Your back!" I exclaim, noticing blood dripping. He turns his head back to see.  
>"Tch... Kuso." Kujirako gushes.<br>"YOU! WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Katzumi scolds.  
>"Crap.. Hold him back!" Daibuta orders. Us three (me, Kiyoshi and Ren) look at Daibuta with confusion as he jumps up and grabs Kujirako from behind, causing him to shout out in pain from his wounded back.<br>"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!" Kujirako shouts at Katzumi, ignoring Daibuta. I could see he was gonna lose it. Kiyoshi and Ren grab either of his arms to restrict his movement. Katzumi slams his hands on his desk and stands up, agitating Kujirako. I stand in from of Kujirako and put my hands on his shoulders. I glare at his face.  
>"Calm down." I say in a calm voice. He huffs and looks away and breaks out of their grip somehow. I know how strong Ren and Kiyoshi are, and together they're even stronger, plus, Daibuta, however strong he is, so how the heck did he manage to escape their grip. We watch him as he walks over to the broken window and makes a few hand signs.<br>"Glass style: Glass Wall Jutsu." He says, then a wall of glass fills in the empty space in the frame, creating a flawless new window. I was in total awe.  
>"Wh.. what was that?" I ask.<br>".. I'm from the Garasumura clan." Kujirako says. "We have a talent for Glass type jutsu."  
>"I've heard of that clan." Ren says. Kujirako nods.<br>"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to get... angry.." He says. Katzumi huffs and sits back down.  
>"How do you do glass jutsu?" I ask.<br>"Well for one, we're a Sunagakure clan for a reason. Sand is a key ingredient when it comes to making glass. With our chakra and Kekkei Genkai, we can combine the sand with searing heat and two other things our chakra creates and that creates glass, but it happens so quick that it just seems glass just appears." Kujirako explains.  
>"That is so cool!" I exclaim.<br>"Don't forget me!" Daibuta exclaims, raising his hands excitedly. We face him.  
>"Are you in a clan too?" I ask.<br>"Uh-huh! I'm in the Taiyō clan! We excel in light jutsu!"  
>"Light jutsu?" I ask.<br>"Yeah, we control the light, we like to blind our opponents." He says. "My eyes are yellow because of the Karugan."  
>"... The what?" I ask.<br>"It's only purpose allows the user not to be blinded by the light we create, and be able to see through it to keep an eye on our enemy." He explains.  
>"That's cool as!" I exclaim. He shrugs modestly.<br>"That's pretty bright." Kiyoshi jokes. We all laugh.  
>"Hey.. Sorry 'bout before. My temper is easily disturbed." Kujirako says.<br>"Eh, it's fine." Kiyoshi says.  
>"You two are cool as!" I exclaim.<br>"Damn straight. But.. you're pretty cool yourself Ayama." Kujirako says.  
>"Really?" I ask. They all nod, almost in sync, it was kinda creepy.<br>"Whenever you're not around Masaru-sensei never shuts up about how good you are and that we all should be as good as you." Kujirako explains.  
>"Huh? When aren't I around?" I ask.<br>"When you go to the toilet or whatever." Kujirako says.  
>"He.. really says that?" I ask.<br>"Yeah, it's really annoying. Especially since you showed off with that puppet." Ren grumbles.  
>"Yeah, that was really awesome. Who taught you? Your parents?" Kujirako asks. I look away.<br>"... A friend..." I reply. "I don't have parents." They all gasp. I forgot Ren and Kiyoshi don't know I live with Baki, they just thought our houses are in the same direction, that's why we always walk together.  
>"You don't!" Ren questions.<br>"Ayama-san.. I... I'm really sorry." Kujirako says. I shake my head and give a reassuring smile.  
>"It's fine. I never knew them anyway." I reply. They look at each other.<br>"So then.. Who-"  
>"Baki." I cut Ren off.<br>"BAKI!" Kiyoshi and Ren question in unison.  
>"Hm? What about Baki?" Katzumi asks.<br>"Nothing." I reply.

"Haha, yes, then he was like, 'Oh no, we're gonna die!' heh, it was funny as." Ren chuckles.  
>"... You're not funny." I say.<br>"Who asked you?" Ren growls.  
>"Nah, I agree, you're not funny." Daibuta says.<br>"Well, my house is down this way, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Kiyoshi says and takes off down the street.  
>"So anyway, who did teach you that puppetry?" Kujirako asks.<br>"Sasori did." Ren answers.  
>"SASORI! As in, <em>the<em> Sasori!" Daibuta questions. I nod happily.  
>"Heh, no wonder you're so good." Kujirako says. His flattery was getting to me now.<br>"I don't really think I'm the strongest in our class." I say.  
>"Bullshit." Daibuta says.<br>"Yeah, none of us could beat you." Kujirako says.  
>"Then why don't we have a spar right now? You three boys against me?" I suggest.<br>"Isn't that a little..? Unfair?" Daibuta asks. I shake my head.  
>"If I am the strongest, then it shouldn't matter how many opponents I verse." I say. They look at each other and shrug.<p>

"Wow... You guys really are weak." I say, looking at the three of them laying there panting.


	11. Chapter 11

****Chapter 11****

"How was your day Baki?" I ask, arriving back at his house.  
>"Hm? Oh Ayama Ayama Ayama!" He says, then runs in front of me and jumps up and down.<br>"What what?" I ask.  
>"I get to go on a mission tomorrow!" He exclaims. I pout.<br>"You're so lucky Baki." I grumble. He puts a hand on my shoulder and grins at me.  
>"Cheer up, you'll be a Genin soon too!" He exclaims. I smile.<br>"I know, I'm best of my class apparently." I say.  
>"Really? That's awesome!" He says then pulls me in to a hug, freaking me out. "You're the best!"<br>"Uhh... Yeah.."  
>"Hm? Oh... uh, erm.. heh..." He lets go of me, feeling really stupid.<br>"Baki, you were my first ever friend." I say then give him a bear hug, just to break the awkward moment. "Thank you." He smiles and hugs me back.  
>"That's okay."<p>

"Ayama, wake up sleepyhead." Baki says, shaking me.  
>".. What?" I grumble.<br>"You're sleeping too much, you'll be late for the academy." He says.  
>"I.. <em>I<em> sleep too much?" I groan, and sit up, rubbing my eyes.  
>"Yeah, more than me.. Must be because you train so much." He says.<br>"Do you think so?" I ask. He nods. "Well.. in that case.. I'm gonna train waaaaaay more!" He sighs and shakes his head. "I'm gonna be a Genin before you know it!"  
>"Yeah, lets make a bet, I say two years, then that will make you 9 when you graduate like me." He says.<br>"Nah, less." I say.  
>"'Kay, well.. we'll see. Heheh, I can't wait to become a Jonin!" He says.<br>"Me neither!" I say. "And with Sasori-kun teaching me, I should be a Jonin in no time!"  
>"Yeah, you know, you're really lucky to have Sasori-kun to teach you." He says. I giggle.<br>"Well, lets get ready for the day." I say. He nods.

"Right, see ya! Good luck on your mission!" I call.  
>"Thanks, see ya!" Baki calls back, then we go off in our separate directions.<br>"Ayama!" Ren calls, running really fast towards me. I jump knowing he can't stop, and he tumbles.  
>"You're getting worse-"<br>"Ayama!" He shouts -right next to me- and grabs my arm.  
>"What?" I ask.<br>"Ayama!" He shouts again, then pulls my arm as he starts running.  
>"WHAT?" I shout.<br>"Huh? Yeah we're like gonna be like... late again." He says in a normal voice.  
>"L-let go, you're too fast for me." I say.<br>"No! I thought _you_ are supposed to be the best student in the class." He says. I smirk.  
>"I am!" I exclaim, then break out of his grip.<br>"Running late?" Sasori asks, randomly being around.  
>"No!" I exclaim. He laughs.<br>"We sure are! Sorry Sasori, we gotta get going!" Ren says then goes to grab my arm again, but I jump back. "Pfft, fine." He says then bolts off. "DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU GET ANOTHER DETENTION!" He shouts back. Sasori raised an eyebrow.  
>".. You got detention?" Sasori asks.<br>"Um.. it wasn't my fault. I stood up for this girl who I thought didn't deserve to be in trouble and Masaru-sensei put me in detention." I explain.  
>"Hahaha, of all things. Here I thought it was something major." He chuckles.<br>"Hey! I wouldn't do anything to get into trouble!" I huff.  
>"Well if you say so.. Hm, you might want to get moving then, or you will get into trouble." He says. My jaw dropped to the ground.<br>"Crap, see ya Sasori!" I call and bolt away. He chuckles.

I quietly open the door, Masaru-sensei was writing on the blackboard and saying something. I bite my lip, hoping he wont notice. I slide past the door and very quietly close it, everyone's (except Masaru) eyes were on me. I jump from the door to my seat next to Ren who shakes his head at me.  
>".. and then after doing such, the chakra forms into-... Ayama, can you run down and fetch Katzumi for me?" Masaru asks. I frown.<br>"Yes sensei." I reply and stand up. A few people chuckle. Masaru turns around to see what's going on.  
>"You've been here all morning haven't you?" Masaru asks, clarifying.<br>"Yes sensei." I lie. He looks around at everyone.  
>"She has been sir." Kujirako says. I forgot he's in my class.<br>"Hm, I could've sworn I saw your seat empty... I must be going mental." He says.  
>"... Yes sensei." I repeat. A few people laugh.<br>".. Ayama, that's not something you agree to." Masaru says.  
>"Yes se-"<br>"Just get going."  
>"Hai." I walk down to the door and walk out. I walk directly straight to the door opposing my classroom door. I knock on it before opening it. "Sorry to interrupt, but Masaru-sensei wants to see you."<br>".. Ugh, what now? Geez.." Katzumi complains and stands up. I notice the room is completely empty apart from him.

"Listen here Masaru, just because my class has graduated and I am waiting to be assigned a new class doesn't mean you get to keep calling me." Katzumi complains.  
>"Yeah yeah I know. Listen.." Masaru replies and the two of them start talking.<br>"That was a pretty nifty move earlier, he didn't even notice." Kiyoshi says.  
>"I know, I'm so stealthy." I laugh.<br>"I can be stealthier." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Yeah right." I sigh.<br>"I'm agreeing with Ayama there." Ren says. I chuckle.  
>"Ren, you're supposed to be on my side." Kiyoshi complains.<br>"I never said that." Ren says.  
>"Haha, hey, who wants to come training after class?" I ask. They both look at me and nod, like I had just made a statement rather than asked a question.<p>

"Alright, listen up." Masaru finally says. Katzumi looks annoyed. "Clones. Outside. Now." I chuckle.  
>"Kiyoshi, don't kill him this time." I say.<br>"... Shut up." He grumbles. I look to the back of the class where Chikari sits, she's biting her lip nervously, but then again, when isn't she?

"Fire Clone Jutsu!" Kiyoshi says, then creates a clone that looks just like him made from fire.  
>"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Me and Ren say, then create perfect replicas of ourselves.<br>"Wow, this round is even better!" Kiyoshi says.  
>"Yeah! We'll graduate in no time if we keep this up!" Ren exclaims. We all release our clones.<br>"Just to think how crappy our clones were this morning." I mention.  
>"I got an idea!" Kiyoshi says. "Lets create two clones!"<br>"Yeah!" I agree. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"  
>"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"<br>"Fire Clone Jutsu!"  
>"We did it!" I exclaim. We all had two perfect clones.<br>"What's going on here?" Masaru asks, approaching us. He looks very surprised to see three of each of us, he apparently couldn't tell the real ones of us.  
>"We're training!" We all reply (including the clones). He raised an eyebrow.<br>"This is incredible. I can't even tell the real ones." Masaru says. "How often do you three train?"  
>"Every day!" We all reply.<br>"Wow... no wonder.." Masaru mumbles.  
>"Release!" We get rid of our clones - it's using up too much chakra.<br>"I'm really impressed you lot." He says. We all grin.  
>"Does this mean we get to graduate soon?" Ren asks.<br>"Well, you all still have a fair bit to learn, but.. I never expected this.. you might even be able to graduate when the next exams come up." He says.  
>"When are they?" Ren asks.<br>"Next year, but of course, if you three excel before then, we can allow you to graduate sooner." Masaru explains.  
>"What do you mean next year!" Kiyoshi complains.<br>"We only have the exams twice a year Kiyoshi." Masaru says. "As for you Ayama."  
>"Yes?"<br>"I am very impressed. For someone to come in so late into the class and learn everything and become advanced at it, it's just remarkable." He says. I nod. "And the fact you've also got these two even better at things is even better."  
>"Ye- hey! What do you mean 'got us better'?" Ren questions.<br>"Well before Ayama came along, you two were... well.. Ren, you were too lazy, and Kiyoshi, I've never seen you train so much beforehand." He explains.  
>"Did I really do that?" I ask. He nods.<p>

"Sasori? Can I train with you on the weekend?" I ask.  
>"Of course." He replies. "In fact, why not come over after class today?"<br>"Okay! I will!" I say. He smiles and nods.

"I've seen that look before." Ren says.  
>".. What?" I ask.<br>"You're training with Sasori today aren't you?" He asks.  
>"... And on the weekend." I say. He anime drops.<br>"Don't worry Ren, we'll train even harder." Kiyoshi says, picking him up.  
>"Alright, listen up." Masaru shouts, walking into the classroom. Everyone sits down. "Today I'd like to have some sparring matches. I've put everyone in pairs, so don't go complaining." Everyone groans. "I only did this because I figured everyone wants to go with their friends, so I put everyone in pairs according to similar skills and strengths. And to make things even more fun, I'm turning this into a tournament. Whoever wins will be named the class champion."<br>"That's so me." I say. Ren punches me.

"Alright, first match, Kiyoshi verses Chikari." Masaru says.  
>"I thought he said similar skills and strengths." I murmur.<br>"Hey, Chikari is stronger than she looks." Murmurs one of her friends.  
>"Oh... But Kiyoshi is really strong." I say.<p>

"The winner is Kiyoshi." Masaru announces. They both look rather worn out, but being Kiyoshi, he could go on forever. "Next up. Daibuta verses Kujirako."  
>"Oh, this should be interesting." I say.<p>

"The winner is Kujirako. Next up, Ren verses Aiko."

"Ren is the winner." Masaru announces. After a few more matches, he finally called out my name. "Ayama verses Saburo."  
>"Who?" I mutter.<br>"Get out there Ayama, show 'em what you're made of!" Kiyoshi says, then pushes me. If I had bad coordination, I would've fallen over just then. I jump into the arena. A kid with brown shaggy hair steps out. The girls started to drop with infatuation. '_Is this guy supposed to be a chick magnet or something?'  
><em>"Hurting girls isn't really my thing, but I guess I don't have much choice, sorry about that." Saburo says.  
>"Psh, hurt me? I doubt you can even touch me." I say. I have Suki with me, inside a scroll (Sasori has taught me that too) as a last resort.<br>"... Don't get cocky, I doubt you're even that strong." He says.  
>"Go Saburo-kun!" Girls cheer. He grins at them, showing pure white teeth, making them faint.<br>"Is he for real?" I murmur under my breath. He faces me again, flicking his hair at the same time, all the girls screamed and I stood there like I was looking at the most retarded person on earth. He apparently hated my expression.  
>"Begin." Masaru says.<br>"If you say so sensei." He says, slowly getting into a fighting stance, trying to look cool. I blink. '_Of all people._' I grab my bamboo stick, and he straight away thought he knew my tactics. I swing it around skillfully, which surprised a few people.  
>"If you wont come at me, I'll come at you." I say, then begin running at him. He grins - overconfident. I jump up in the air, then grab the bamboo firmly, and swing it downward, whacking his head, and forcing his face to the ground. I jump backwards, waiting for him to get up... Any minute now...<br>"... Um.. That was... quick.." Masaru says.  
>"That hurt!" Saburo whines as he slowly brings himself to his feet.<br>"Saburo-kunnnn!"  
>"You're stronger than I thought Ayama." He says, then spits out a bit of blood, making the girls go berserk. I look at him as if to say 'are you serious?'. When you train with Ren and Kiyoshi, we always end up battered and bloody. That's what training is, right? "I think I might have to take it up a notch." The girls went wild.<br>"Whatever." I reply.  
>"You can't resist my irresistible charm." He says, then grins at me. I blink a few times.<br>"Um... What charm?" I ask. A few boys laugh at his rejection.  
>"We love you Saburo-kun!"<br>"I know you do, you're all beautiful." Saburo says. The girls scream (perhaps not Chikari, she's not that type). "Now, Ayama-chan, I will show you the true meaning of strength."  
>"... Really? What have you been doing so far?" I ask. The boys laugh again (all of them).<br>"Grr.. I'll teach you to mock me!" He growls. "Earth Style: Crushing Boulder Jutsu!" A giant boulder then randomly appears in the sky above me, and falls rapidly. So fast in fact, I barely had time to think.

**CRASH**

"AYAMA!" Ren and Kiyoshi shout.  
>"Saburo!" Masaru scolds. I mentally snigger. They think it crushed me. Now's my chance. I take out the scroll containing Suki and summon her. After attaching all the strings, I manipulate her to go behind Saburo, and grab his arm and pull it up behind him, threatening to break it. I make my appearance behind them both. Everyone's attention turns to me.<br>"Ayama!" Ren exclaims.  
>"You were saying?" I ask.<br>"Ngh.. h-how?" Saburo asks.  
>"You killed my shadow clone." I say.<br>"Wh.. what? Impossible." He gushes.  
>"Now I'll break your arm for underestimating me." I say.<br>"No! Please! No! I-I surrender! Please!" Saburo pleads. I raise my eyebrow. The boys laugh again.  
>"Haha, cupid is scared of breaking an arm." They tease. I laugh and let him go.<br>"... Ayama, how long have you had that puppet?" Masaru asks, coming over to observe it.  
>"Ages." I reply.<br>"... No, in this match."  
>"All this match." I say. He looks confused. "... I store it in this scroll." I pull out the scroll, which made me loose control of Suki.<br>"... Where did you learn to do that?" He asks.  
>"Stop questioning me! Start the next match." I say, and put Suki back inside the scroll and join Ren and Kiyoshi.<br>"I was wondering why you haven't been carrying Suki around lately." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Yeah, you get cooler everyday." Ren says.<br>"Stop it." I gush. "I.. don't like flattery."  
>"Heheh, hey, did we ever end up getting Baki-kun a present?" Ren asks.<br>"... No. I forgot." I reply.  
>"Haha, oh well." Kiyoshi laughs.<p>

"Now semi-finals. There are two matches left. Ayama, Ren, Kiyoshi and Kujirako are the finalists. To make things more interesting, I will put their names in this hat, and I will get you to draw them out." Masaru explains, then points to the closest person to him, which happened to be a half-asleep Daibuta.  
>"Zzz, wha?" He groans. Masaru held out the hat. "Am I supposed to do something?"<br>"Draw two names out." Masaru says.  
>"Oh.. Well that's easy enough." He says, then lazily reaches into the hat and pulls out a name. He unfolds it. "... The name is... I'd tell you if I could read it." Masaru's eye twitched. He took it.<br>"Kiyoshi." He says. "Now draw out another."  
>"Aw, okay." Daibuta, once again, lazily reaches into the hat and pulls out another. "... nope, I still can't read it."<br>"Grrr.." Masaru snatches it. "Hm, Kujirako. Which then leaves Ayama and Ren for the second match."  
>"I wanna verse Kujirako though, I fight Ren too much." I complain. Masaru raises a hand to silence me. Ren looks down like he knows he's gonna lose.<p>

After what seemed forever, Kiyoshi's match was finally over. Kiyoshi's never-ending spirit caused him to win, even though he had cuts and grazes all over him, and little shards of glass sticking into him.  
>"Well, Kiyoshi wins." Masaru says. Kiyoshi jumped for joy, then realized he was in pain, but tried to ignore it and ran over to me to give me a victorious hug, but I cleverly side-stepped, and he tripped.<br>"Gahaha." Ren laughs.  
>"Alright, Ren, Ayama, come on. Kiyoshi go to the infirmary and recover a bit before the final match." Masaru says.<br>"No! I'm fi-"  
>"Just go." I say. He pouts.<br>"I wanna watch!" He complains.  
>"Ugh, fine, someone go get the nurse." Masaru says. Everyone stands still. "You, go get the nurse." He points to the closest person to him – Daibuta.<br>"Huh? Wh-... why me?" Daibuta complains.  
>"Just go." Masaru says. Daibuta groans and unwillingly obeys. "Now, let this match begin."<br>"I'm going full speed!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Great." I reply – his speed is incredible, I usually have a hard time hitting him. He runs at me at an unseeable speed, before I know it, I'm forced up into the air by a punch to my chin, making everyone gasp.<br>"Ren! This is NOT a fight! It's a spar!" Masaru scolds. I land on my feet and Ren turns to face him.  
>"But this is nothing sensei." I say and a trail of blood drips from my mouth. "This is no different to how we train."<br>"Keep it clean!" He scolds. I wipe the blood from my mouth and spit out the disgusting taste of that small amount of blood in my mouth.  
>"That means I have to hold back!" Ren complains.<br>"You're fighting a girl Ren, it's courtesy to hold back." Masaru says. I wanted to punch him.  
>"Sensei! Holding back, in my opinion, is a sign of disrespect!" I exclaim.<br>"Ayama! Ren! Stop it! I said a clean match!" Masaru shouts.  
>"... Come at me Ren!" I shout. He faces me and nods. I attempt to dodge his next fast attack, I barely managed to avoid it. Masaru became furious. I strike back with a kick to his face, sending him backwards.<br>"Don't make me call this match off!" Masaru shouts.  
>"What to you want us to do! Flick each other!" I question. He gave me a disappointed look, but he knew I was right. I pull out my bamboo stick and spin it. I use it to block Ren's next few attacks. I then cleverly whack his stomach, pinning him to the ground. He couldn't get up.<br>"I think I won again Ren." I say.  
>"Grr, you do this every time!" Ren complains.<br>"The winner is Ayama." Masaru says, wanting to end the match right there. We both sigh, and I let him up.  
>"Woo! Bring it on Ayama!" Kiyoshi says, jumping into the arena.<br>"No, let her rest a bit." Masaru says.  
>"I will, and I'll kick your ass!" I exclaim. Masaru wonders where the three of us get our energy.<br>"... Very well, begin." Masaru says.  
>"Fire clone jutsu!" Kiyoshi creates two clones (he wants to show off) and the three Kiyoshi's run at me.<br>"Wind Style: Wind Slicing Jutsu!" I swing my bamboo stick, sending off a moderately powerful slice of wind, not strong enough to seriously injure, but strong enough to give a nice cut. It destroyed both his clones, and cut across his stomach, forcing him backwards.  
>"AYAMA!" Masaru scolds.<br>"WHAT?" I shout.  
>"I said clean fight! CLEAN!" Masaru shouts. Kiyoshi jumps back to his feet.<br>"I will use this wind to strengthen my next attack!" Kiyoshi says. I raise an eyebrow. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He breaths out a large fireball, and it suddenly grows even bigger.  
>"Crap." I had completely forgotten that wind style strengthens fire style. There's no way to dodge it. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I create a clone, it grabs my arm and throws me out of the way. I sigh of relief.<br>"KIYOSHI! AYAMA! STOP TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER!" Masaru roars. Kiyoshi faces him and shrugs.  
>"What?" He asks. "I've saved up all my chakra for this final round."<br>"THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO KILL EACH OTHER!" Masaru shouts. While he's ranting I run at Kiyoshi with my bamboo stick, and whack him over the head, hard enough to knock him unconscious. Success. "AYAMA!"  
>"I won!" I exclaim. Masaru buries his head in his hand.<br>"Good job Ayama!" Ren calls.  
>"Ayama really is the strongest! You were right Masaru-sensei!" Calls another student. <strong>I felt like dancing, but no. I was picked up by the crowd of... boys, and cheered for while being carried above their heads. The girls hate me for bashing up Saburo and mocking him. <strong>

**"Wow, no wonder you're all battered up." Sasori says. I nod.  
>"It was nothing." I imply, then fall over, he caught me. I was ready to sleep.<br>"Heh, doesn't look like we'll be training today." Sasori chuckles. He picks me up and carries me to Baki's house. I felt safe in his arms, that's when I heard that voice again.**

**"_Don't worry Ayama! I'll protect you! Just hold on!"_**

**I couldn't move a muscle, it was frustrating. Even my eyes wouldn't open, my body was absolutely dead.  
>"She overdid it." I heard Sasori's voice.<br>"Haha, that's just like Ayama." That was Baki.  
>"Oh, well, come, lets put her in her bed." That was his mom. A little while after I felt my body being lowered onto my bed and the blankets being pulled up over me. I think Sasori is the only one in the room.<br>"Rest up Ayama. I'm proud of you." Sasori says, brushing my fringe out of my face. I wanted to smile up at him, but my body refused. ".. I'm glad I met you." After that I heard his footsteps head to the door and he closed it quietly on his way out. **

**"_NO! Ayama! Give her back! She's my daughter!" That voice.. 'daughter'? Is this.. my.. father?_**


	12. Chapter 12

****Chapter 12****

_"Unhand my daughter!" that voice... again... is this my father?  
>"Never! You went back to your old wife! I'm taking Ayama, you'll never see her again!" ... I know that voice... Don't tell me she...<em>

"Bitch!" I shout, waking myself up at my voice.  
>"Nnngh, wh-what?" Baki groans as he wakes up. I didn't notice I'm covered in sweat, blood and bruises and panting. "Ayama! Are you alright?" Baki rushes to my bed.<br>"... I.. I'm fine.." I pant.  
>"Bad dream?" He asks. I make eye contact with him.<br>"Worse."

"So... You think _she_ took you away form your parents?" Baki asks.  
>"Yeah.. Hideka.. I'd know that voice anywhere." I reply. "So.. there might be a chance my parents are alive."<br>"I don't know.. the way they shouted, it was like... like in the middle of a fight.. and the man sounded weak." I explain.  
>"I honestly.. don't know what to say." Baki says.<br>"That's okay. It's probably not true anyway.." I say. "After all dreams are... odd things."  
>"Heh, you got that right, hey listen, I had this dream the other night that these giant scorpions were chasing me across this large body of water, and we were like.. running <em>on<em> water." He explains. I shake my head and laugh.  
>"I wish I had dreams like that." I say. He immediately puts his hand on my shoulder and makes eye contact.<br>"Trust me. No you don't." He says.  
>".. You're scared." I say.<br>"... No I'm not!"  
>"Ye- okay.. So how did your mission go yesterday?" I ask.<br>"Oh my God... Best fun ever!" He says. "We got to go out into the desert, and guess what!"  
>"What?"<br>"There's this giant buried statue, you can see the top half of it's head, and it's fingers, and there's dry blood written on it." He exclaims.  
>"Really?"<br>"Yeah! And it's like HUGE! The top half of it's head is.. BIGGER than my house!" He exclaims.  
>"Baki.. you're making me jealous." I grumble.<br>"Sorry, but IT'S SO COOL!... Is it just me or is it hot today?" He asks, then takes the turban off his head with his headband, revealing his spiky brown/black hair that looks like nearly every other boys' hair. He scratches his head and ruffles his hair then wipes the back of his neck.  
>"Yeah, it is kinda hot today." I say.<br>"Oh yeah, so how come you were so like, battered and stuff yesterday?"  
>"Well.."<p>

"Oh, that sounds awesome as. And you won? Good job!" He says. I nod modestly.  
>"It was fairly hard." I say.<br>"I thought you said it was nothing." Sasori says, scaring both of us. He looked like he had been standing there for ages. I shuffle over so he could sit next to me. We're sitting on the front steps of Baki's house - because we're awesome like that...  
>"Um, well.. It was kinda hard." I say. They both laugh.<br>"So you're modest around Baki, but exaggerate around me?" He asks.  
>"... Because you're my sensei! I want to make you proud!" I exclaim. Baki is the only one that knows this.<br>"I am proud of you Ayama." Sasori says, putting his arm around me. I let him.  
>"How long have you been there?" I ask.<br>"A while." He replies. "Since you started talking about that tournament yesterday. You passed out before you got to tell me about it yesterday."  
>"Um, yeah.. Okay, it was a little hard, I admit it." I say.<br>"Of course it was." Sasori says. Baki laughs.  
>"I wish we could've done stuff like that." Baki says.<br>"That's right, you're a Genin now aren't you?"  
>"Yeah." Baki replies. The front door opened.<br>"Come on son, we're going on a mission together. Put your headband on and lets go see Kazekage-sama." Says Baki's dad. Baki shoots up from his seat, and puts his turban back.  
>"Okay! Um, see ya Ayama!" Baki says then the two of them run off. I shake my head.<br>"I wonder if we'll get to go on missions together one day." Sasori says.  
>"Yeah! When I become a Chuunin!" I say.<br>"Well you'll have to hurry up then." He says.  
>"Why?" I ask, looking up at him. He just pulled a face like he was worried about what he just said.<br>"Uh.. s-so we can go on missions sooner." He laughs. I smile.  
>"Then lets go train so I can graduate sooner!" I exclaim. He nods.<p>

One Year Later

After training with Sasori for nearly an entire year, I consider myself to be unstoppable. However, I had to wait for Ren and Kiyoshi to try and catch up with my skills so we can graduate together.  
>"Come on Ren! We'll be late!" I exclaim, pulling his arm.<br>"Since when do you care? You're the one who's always late anyway!" Ren says.  
>"No but don't you know what today is?" I question. His eyes light up with confusion.<br>".. No?"  
>"Masaru-sensei told me on Friday that they're holding graduation exams today!" I exclaim. His eyes widen.<br>"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Ren shouts, then runs ahead of me, then in an instant he's out of sight. Over the year he has gotten so fast that there probably isn't anyone in the whole Sunagakure that could win against him in a running race. As for me, my speed may have dropped a little, but my skills have definitely improved.

"Masaru-sensei!" I shout, bursting in through the door. Ren and Kiyoshi were already pestering him about something. I join them.  
>"I take it you want to go to the next class and attempt the graduation exams too?" Masaru asks me. I nod vigorously. "Alright." He stands in front of us to announce to the class. "Is there anyone else in this class that want to attempt at the graduation exams?" Silence answered. "Then as for you three, I wish you luck. The room next door is where it's being held." We nod and give knuckles to each other. (I'm basically a boy now)<p>

"Huh? Aren't you three a little young to take the Genin exams?" Katzumi asks, after hearing he's in charge we all sigh.  
>"No, we're definitely gonna pass!" Ren exclaims. Everyone in the room started laughing. They seemed to be from older classes, they look around 11-12 years old. And as for us three, we're 8.<br>"... Alright, go take a seat down the front." Katzumi says, and we do.  
>"What's this? Little pups wanna play with the big dogs?" Someone scoffs. Everyone laughs - including Ren. I think he was a little too overconfident. Me and Kiyoshi stare at him like he's an idiot, so does everyone else.<br>"Okay, now... there doesn't seem to be any more interruptions, so we shall begin these exams. Is everyone ready?" Katzumi asks. Me, Ren and Kiyoshi stand up and throw our fists to the air (in perfect sync).  
>"Yeah!" We say in unison, this caused nearly everyone else to stop their cheer and stare at us idiots.<br>".. Sit down." Katzumi says. We do. "Okay, the Genin exams are split up into three parts, first part is a written exam, second part is a ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu check, just to make sure your skills are basically flawless, and thirdly we will have a few spars to see how you put your skills to use in case you are not ready to have an actuall fight." Katzumi eyes the three of us.  
>"Hahaha, I'm gonna beat those puppies to a pulp!" Shouts that boy again.<br>"Ayama, Ren, Kiyoshi, I heard from Masaru about your little tournament on Friday. These rules strongly say NO KILLING EACH OTHER! IT IS A SPAR, NOT A FUCKING FIGHT TO THE DEATH MATCH!" The three of us tried our hardest to hold back a laugh.  
>"Whoa.. Those pups tried to kill each other? Heh, how childish." Says that boy. I am ready to fight him any day.<br>"Got it?" Katzumi asks. We all nod our heads.  
>"If you say so." I say. He just frowns at me.<br>"Heh, for little guppies, they sure do have some confidence." Says some snobbish-sounding girl up the back. A few people laugh.  
>"Yes, confidence is good to have in the shinobi world." Katzumi says, then turns around to his desk.<br>"Too much will get you killed." She says.  
>"Precisely." Katzumi says, then turns around holding a large pile of paper. He walks around and puts one of these booklets in front of everyone face down.<br>"This is gonna be too easy." Ren says.  
>"Tell me about it." I say.<br>"Kuh, child's play." Kiyoshi says, trying to sound cool, but... Cool just isn't his thing.

Once Katzumi finished handing them out he stood out the front. "Now everyone pick up your pencils, this will finish at precisely 11:45 am. It is currently 9:30am, so that gives you 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete this part. Take your time and be sure to double check your answers. I want total silence... Begin."

"Time." Katzumi says. I stop my little crappy illustration on the bottom of the last page and sit up straight. I finished a while ago, but it sure was harder than I expected. I think I did alright though, I managed to answer every question - whether the answers are right or not is a different story. "I am going to come around and collect them now, make sure your names are clearly labelled on the front page."

After he collected the papers, me, Kiyoshi and Ren felt like bursting out full of energy, but that was 'not tolerated' so we just sat there, punching each other while he and a few other sensei's marked the papers.

After that, they Katzumi handed them back. He came up to me first. "Ayama."  
>"Yes!" I question, about to jump out of my seat. He places it face down on the table in front of me.<br>"Good work." He says then goes to the other side of the room. I immediately pick it up to see the score when Ren snatches it out of my hands.  
>"What'd'ya get? What'd'ya get?" He questions, and goes to look at it when Kiyoshi snatches it.<br>"Yeah wha-" I snatch it back.  
>"Wow! Perfect score!" I exclaim.<br>"No way!" Ren exclaims, then snatches it back to see for himself. "Whoa!" Kiyoshi snatches it again.  
>"Wow!" He exclaims. I snatch it back again. I am very proud of myself.<br>"Okay, Ren." Katzumi says, coming back to our table. Katzumi opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off my Ren snatching it out of his hand and looking at it. He jumped up from his seat.  
>"Perfect score!" He shouts proudly. I stand up and we hi-five each other.<br>"... Moving on.. Kiyoshi, yours is right he-" Kiyoshi snatches his and looks at it for a few seconds. He looks a little disappointed. Me and Ren stare at him eagerly. The entire room was silent, waiting for something to happen.  
>"PERFECT SCORE!" Kiyoshi shouts, and stands up. The three of us almost scream and we knuckle each other, followed by a brief group hug.<br>"... Right..." Katzumi mutters then goes back to the front of the classroom. As he cleared his throat, capturing everyone's attention, we stopped thinking about throwing each other around (because we do that - it's really fun) and sat down. "I'd like to say that almost all of you achieved perfect scores. Well done. As for those of you that got under 60%, would you please leave." A few people stood up a left. "Now as for the rest of you, the second part will start at 12:30pm, that gives you roughly 35 minutes break. Be back here early if you can so we can get started."

"You first Ayama!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Yes!" I reply. Ren and Kiyoshi pick me up and throw me at the wall, I bounce back off it with my feet and tackle them both. We are three that like to play rough. I reckon I'm a girl's worst nightmare - particularly those really girly girls. LIKE I CARE!<br>"Kiyoshi next!" I exclaim.  
>"Woo!" He cheers. Me and Ren do the same thing.<br>"YOU THREE!" Katzumi shouts, Kiyoshi's concentration was broken and he smacked straight into the wall. "STOP THROWING EACH OTHER AT THE WALL!" We fold our arms and pout.  
>"You're no fun at all." I grumble.<br>"Lets throw Ren at that chicken!" Kiyoshi exclaims, pointing at a chicken randomly walking around - chickens do that in Sunagakure, they're everywhere, in every street, walking around.  
>"Yeah!" I exclaim. Ren raises his fist.<br>"Kill the chicken!" Ren shouts. We all make a cheer and pound the air.  
>"N-no! Leave the chickens alone!" Katzumi calls.<br>"Aaaaaand, die!" I say as we throw Ren at the defenseless chicken. It panicked and jumped around trying to fly before sprinting away screeching. Ren landed face first into the hard sandy ground and slid a bit. Katzumi buried his face in his hand.  
>"Why do they do this?" He mutters.<br>"Look! A whole bunch of chickens!" I exclaim. Katzumi looks up and notices a lot of them pecking around.  
>"... Of all things, they throw themselves at walls and chickens for fun... What is the world coming to?" Katzumi mutters then walks inside, wanting nothing to do with us weirdos.<br>"DIE!" Was all he heard from Ren as he shuts the door, then the sound of another thud and chickens going berserk. He sighs to himself.

"Crap! We have like two minutes before the next part!" I exclaim, finally taking note of the time.  
>".. Quick!" Ren shouts, then disappears (running). Me and Kiyoshi shrug and run after him.<p>

We got there just before Katzumi was about to start speaking. "... You three.." He grumbles.  
>"Look! They got attacked by chickens!" Scoffs that boy.<br>"Nah, we tried to kill them." Ren says. Everyone stops laughing and looks at us strangely.  
>"Maybe next time we should try a different tactic, perhaps more speed and less aim." I suggest.<br>"No! You three will be banned from throwing each other at walls and chickens from now on." Katzumi scolds. I just realized how silly that sounded and laugh. We take our seats. Katzumi let out the biggest sigh before continuing. "Next, I will determine each of your ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu to make sure you can perform at least one perfectly."  
>We all get in a line. It was a proven fact that the three of us excel at taijutsu, me and Kiyoshi can perform pretty good ninjutsu, and as for genjutsu.. Us three are absolutely hopeless at it.<p>

It finally came to my turn.  
>"Ayama, stand in front of me." Katzumi says. I get up from my seat and do so. "First, do you know your chakra nature?" He asks.<br>"Wind." I reply. He nods.  
>"Show me a wind type jutsu." He says, gesturing to a training dummy beside him. I nod.<br>"Blade of Wind Jutsu!" (Yes, Baki taught me that) I send strong air currents from my fingertips and they slice the dummy into pieces. Much to Katzumi's unexpectations.  
>".. That was unexpected, but at the same time I must say, that is very good." He says then scribbles something on a piece of paper he's holding. "Next, taijutsu... Chitose-san, will evaluate your taijutsu skills." One of the men who seemed to be a Jonin, stepped forth.<br>"Come at me when you are ready." He says. I nod... Well, he asked for it.  
>"... Okay.. Ayama, when we say we're testing you, that doesn't mean you bash up the evaluator until to point where he's laying in pain on the ground unable to move." Katzumi explains.<br>"What? He told me to come at him.. so I did." I reply.  
>"She.. passed." Chitose whimpers. Medics came and took him to the infirmary.<br>"Very well, anyway, so far so good." Katzumi says, reading over the paper.  
>"Wow, this guppy ain't too blunt." Says that snobby girl.<br>"Now, final part, genjutsu. Put me in a genjutsu Ayama." Katzumi says. I blink a few times.  
>"Sir. I cannot perform genjutsu." I reply. I am dead serious, I couldn't do genjutsu to save my life.<br>"... Very well. Please take your seat, next up, Ren."

I watch as Ren fails at the ninjutsu, and genjutsu, but like me, excels greatly at the taijutsu part. Kiyoshi also excelled at the taijutsu, and also possibly had the same ninjutsu prowess as me, but as for him too, genjutsu was out of the question.

"That's it for today. Prepare for tomorrow when the sparring starts." Katzumi says. "Dismissed." By now, it is about 4pm, way after normal academy ending time - it finishes at 3pm.  
>"Lets train for tomorrow!" Ren suggests. Me and Kiyoshi face him and for the first time in our lives, we do the logical thing.<br>"Sorry Ren, we can't afford to lose our energy before tomorrow." I say. Kiyoshi nods in agreement, it was painful for him to do that, considering how passionate he is about training.  
>"I can't believe we're actually taking the graduation exams though. And so soon! We only joined the academy last year!" Ren exclaims.<br>"I know! That just means we're awesome!" I say.  
>"Damn straight." Kiyoshi says.<p>

Tomorrow came all too fast. Before I know it, I'm versing that guy who kept calling us 'pups' yesterday, Ren versed that snobby chick and beat her ass, and Kiyoshi versed some random, and won. So now it was my turn to show these "cooler" students their place.  
>"... Ayama, don't try and kill him okay?" Katzumi says.<br>"You! Do not hold back!" I growl, pointing at him.  
>"Heh, why? I wouldn't want to hurt a little puppy like-"<br>"You hold back, then I'll take that as an offense." I say, folding my arms.  
>"So what? I haven't offended you at all yet?" He asks, really confused.<br>"Dude, actions speak louder than words." I say. He was getting frustrated at my smart-ass behavior - but it was so damn fun.  
>"You're such a dead pup." He growls. I want him to get all angry so he wont hold back, 'coz I know he will.<br>"Bark." I mock. He snarls.  
>"... Begin." Katzumi says, half worried. He comes straight at me and I side-step, causing him to trip over and land face first in the ground. Everyone laughs. Now embarrassed, he was even angrier. I jump backwards as he tries to grab my ankle. He jumps to his feet and tries to come at me again, this time, more aware of my agility.<br>"Why you~!" He snarls, and throws a punch to my face, but he didn't know he was attacking my shadow clone and that I was standing behind him. *Poof* "Wh-what?"  
>"Surprise." I say and whack him over the head with my bamboo stick, hard enough to knock him out, he only hit the ground and groaned in pain before getting back up. '<em>Okay.. This guy has more stamina than I thought.<em>' He grabs the collar of my shirt and lifts me off the ground. This was a first. It was interesting too. I send a kick to his chin, forcing his face upwards, and he had to loosen his grip on me, and I land on my feet. He swings his arm around unexpectedly, and it hit my face, and sent me flying, and I landed dead-smack into the wall. Nearly everyone gasps and I grunt in pain, that hurt. I slid down and landed on my butt. I look up at him as he comes and stands over me. I spit blood on his pure white shorts, pissing him right off. I jump through his legs, avoiding that deadly punch he was gonna give me. Katzumi sighs of relief, but he's still full of panic. I was happy though, he wasn't holding back.  
>"Blade of Wind Jutsu!" I say, and send harsh blades of wind toward him, they sliced his back and side, causing blood to be spilled. Katzumi was about to step in and stop the match then and there, when my opponent ran at me, and I barely missed that punch. I like challenges like this. He also hits a lot harder than what Kiyoshi and Ren do, so I have to be careful. "Wind style: Tornado Jutsu!" I say, then from my mouth, I send a spiraling air current, that formed into a small tornado, and it was strong enough to lift my opponent off the ground. Now I had him right where I want him. "Blade of Wind Jutsu!" The slices of wind slice him good and I release the tornado which was beginning to make a mess of the arena. He fell to the ground in pure agony.<br>"Alright! Stop! Ayama, you win. Nurse! Tend to him immediately." Katzumi says. I smirk, then the wave of pain hit me also, I felt something trickle down the back of my neck. Blood.

According to the nurses I only had a small cut on the back of my head, and a very loose tooth in my mouth on the side he hit me. I ended up just ripping it out myself, which made the nurses hate me. It was a back tooth, so from the outside it can't be noticed. Apart from that I had a bruised muscle in the back of my left shoulder from hitting the wall so hard. I was gonna have to take it easy for a few days until I get better.

Ren came bursting through the door, followed by Kiyoshi. "We made it Ayama! We're Genin!" He exclaims.  
>"Really!" This is the happiest day of my life.<br>"We meet our sensei tomorrow, Katzumi-sensei says that because us three are the only ones in this age group we automatically get put together in a squad!" Kiyoshi exclaims.  
>"That's awesome as!"<br>"And you will be taking it easy. No more training for a week, not until your body recovers." The nurse scolds. I look down.  
>"Wow, he really got you good. Your entire shoulder is bandaged." Kiyoshi mentions. I nod and laugh.<br>"I cut my head open slightly too. Oh and check this out!" I say and hold up my blood-covered tooth.  
>"Gross!" Ren says, but they show fully interested faces. I chuckle.<p>

So then the next day came. It was annoying to be in bandages, it really sucked. I could hardly move my shoulder because it hurt really badly. My head was sore too, I had to sleep on my side last night, and now I felt stiff. However, today, I get to meet my new sensei!

I was hoping to see Sasori on my way to the academy, but didn't. He's probably out on a mission or something.  
>Once getting there, I meet up with Ren and Kiyoshi who also had several bandages here and there. I notice Ren is limping too.<br>".. I pulled a muscle from running so fast yesterday." Ren says. I laugh.  
>"Is our sensei here yet?" I ask.<br>"Nah, we're actually early for a change." Kiyoshi says. So we sit around talking (too sore to punch each other) until our sensei arrives.

"Well well, aren't you the sorest looking bunch." Says a woman as she approaches us. She is wearing the Jonin uniform.  
>"Are you out sensei?" I ask.<br>"Hai. My name is Natsu Chitori." She says. Her most distinct feature is her bright red hair, she also has what seems to be black eyes. "I'm known as one of the best genjutsu users in all Sunagakure. How is your genjutsu?" Us three look at each other.. We are going to be forced to learn genjutsu.. Two words; Oh No.


	13. Chapter 13

****Chapter 13:****

"What do you mean you 'can't do genjutsu'!" Chitori questions. We stare at her.  
>"What do you think miss?" Ren says.<br>"It means we cannot do genjutsu." Kiyoshi says. It's moments like that, that makes me want to hit him for being so blunt. Chitori sighs and buries her head in her hand.  
>"I cannot believe this.. I get stuck with three students, and none of them can do... ugh.. Alright, listen up. Today, we are gonna train an-"<br>"Miss, we're kinda in pain here." I mention, gesturing to our bandages and groaning faces.  
>"... Ugh... Well what will we do?" She asks, putting her hands to her hips. Silence answered her. "Oh, there's something I'm meant to give you three." I raise an eyebrow and us three look at each other confused. Chitori reaches into her pocket and pulls out three headbands and hands them out to us. This made us happy. I put mine around my forehead, so does Kiyoshi, Ren thought it'd be cool to put it around his arm. I shook my head then he put it around his forehead too. "Come to think of it, you three look rather young, how old are you?"<br>"8." We reply.  
>"I'm oldest." Kiyoshi sniggers.<br>"I'm youngest." I say. Ren (sitting in the middle) nods.  
>"I'm in between." He says.<br>"Wow, so young.. does that mean you three are really good?" She asks.  
>"What do you think?" Ren replies.<br>"Yes, that means us three are awesome." Kiyoshi says. We both frown at him.  
>"Well in that case, it doesn't seem that we can do much training today, so I'll let you rest up for today, and tomorrow if you need to, but after you tell me about yourselves." She says. "Starting with you." She points at me.<br>"Well, my name is Hatano Ayama.."

".. What's with that smug grin?" Baki asks. I haven't told him about the exams, and when he asked about my injuries, I replied with "training".  
>"... Guess." I say. He puts a finger to his chin and squints his eyes at me. Could he seriously not see it? I notice the kitchen light is on, so I lean towards it so the light then reflects off my headband then into his face. His eyes widen.<br>"You're a ninja now!" He exclaims. "Since when!"  
>"Yesterday! I lied about training because I wanted to surprise you." I say.<br>"Wow, so the reason you're all covered in bandages is because of the Genin exams huh?"  
>"Yeah.. and I got to meet my sensei today as well!" I exclaim. "Wait 'till Sasori-kun hears about this!"<br>"Yeah! He'd be really happy!" Baki says.  
>"I'll go find him tomorrow, our sensei said she's gonna let us rest and recover for two days starting tomorrow, so I can go find him then." I say. Baki gave an unsure nod.<br>"Don't push yourself though, you could make your wounds worse." He says.  
>"I know." I reply.<p>

The next morning I woke up feeling a little better, I still can't move my shoulder without it hurting though. My head feels fine. Though, I must admit, something has been bothering me lately, and it's not something I want to bring up around the boys.  
>I get up for a nice searing shower, which somehow didn't burn me, but it felt nice on my sore shoulder, putting my tenseness at ease. Looking down, I notice it's curvy. I place a hand on my chest, noting that they're growing out. I am not happy. Though, it's only a small curve, to me, I still don't want them yet - boobs. After my shower I felt all refreshed, and I got Baki's mom to help put the bandages back on (as it required to not have a shirt on).<br>"My my, I can't help but notice you're beginning to mature a bit Ayama-chan." She giggles. I get a red face and pout.  
>"I don't want them yet." I grumble. She laughs.<br>"Every girl gets them Ayama, it's nothing to be ashamed about." She chuckles. Then she hands me my shirt and I put it on. "I was a little scared once mine started growing too, but really, it's nothing to worry about."  
>"But what if mine get really really big?" I ask.<br>"No, I don't think that will happen Ayama." She laughs. It's not funny, this is damn serious. Then she giggles again. "Have you spoken to Baki today?"  
>"No.. not yet. Why?" I ask. She giggles again.<br>"Ah, the little ones are both maturing." She giggles and walks out. I curiously follow her down the stairs and into the kitchen where Baki is getting lectured about something by his dad, and he had a worried face.  
>"Don't worry about it son. It happens to all of us one day." His dad chuckles.<br>"Morning Baki." I say. He looks and me and nods. I tilt my head to the side.  
>"Don't be ashamed about it son." His dad says, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. Baki looks down. Don't tell me something of his is growing too. No. Don't think about that. Bad Ayama. I shiver to clear my mind of that horrible thought. Baki looks at me again, we both exchanged red faces. His lips were clamped shut.<br>"Is.. something.. wrong?" I ask. He nods quickly.  
>"No there's not." His dad replies, nudging him again. "You can't be scared of it." Baki gives a fearful look to his dad.<br>"What's going on?" I ask. Then started to think I might regret asking.  
>"I'll let Baki tell you." His dad says then stands up. "I've got to get going. Have a good day hun. You too Baki.." Baki nods again. "Make sure you tell Ayama.. Or, let her figure it out. See ya."<br>"Good bye dear." His mom calls. Baki waves. "Baki, at least say good morning to Ayama." Baki looks down again, timidly. I've never seen him like this. I sit next to him and he looks at me.  
>"What's wrong?" I ask. He finally opens his mouth, but to let out a deep breath. He then clears his throat.<br>"My voice broke." He says in a really deep voice, sounding somewhat similar to his dad's deep voice. I jump at the sound of it and almost fall out of my chair.  
>"What the hell happened to your voice!" I question - I heard his voice, not his words. He sighs.<br>"It broke." He repeats. I cautiously sit back down, this is gonna take some time to get used to. Imagine when Ren and Kiyoshi's voices break..  
>"I hear." I say.<br>"It's not funny."  
>"I know it's not! My boobs are growing, and that's not funny either!" I exclaim, holding both lumps on my chest. Baki's face turns bright red. Behind us, his mom is laughing. We both glare at her. How dare she laugh at our.. misfortunes.<p>

I walk around for a while until I end up at Sasori's house. I knock on the door, and he, who I've spent all this time looking for, doesn't answer the door.  
>"Oh Ayama-chan, how are you?" Chiyo asks.<br>"I'm good thanks. Is Sasori home?" I ask.  
>"Indeed he i- oh! You've got a headband, does that mean you're a ninja now?"<br>"Hai!" I reply, now feeling happy. Chiyo nods and steps aside to allow me in. I'm like another family member to them, his house is like my second home - my first being Baki's house.  
>I walk to the door leading into the basement and knock on it - you can't just walk in because Sasori gets upset.<br>"Who is it?" He calls.  
>"It's me!" I call back. I heard a chair slide across the floor in a hurry then the door opened.<br>"Ayam- you've got a headband!" He exclaims. I nod happily. His half-shocked expression turns into a happy one. "Well, that's just the best news I've heard all day, so you're a Genin now huh?"  
>"Yeah, I'm on a team with Ren and Kiyoshi!" I exclaim.<br>"Really? Those two did it too? Incredible.." He says, then slowly drifts off into thought.  
>"Sasori?" I snap him back into reality.<br>"Hm?" I surprise him by giving him the biggest hug in the world.  
>"Thank you so much!" I say.<br>"F-for what?" He asks.  
>"Without you, I wouldn't have become a Genin so fast." I say, ready to cry from happiness. A smile comes across the puppet-master's face and he kneels down to my height and gives me a proper hug.<br>"Thank you for being such a great friend." He says. We didn't know Chiyo was watching us with gratitude. It must enlighten her to know that her grandson doesn't feel lonely anymore.

Their faces went bright red and they look away. "Baki had the same reaction.." I mutter. Chitori cracks up laughing. "Why is it the boys go red and the girls laugh?" I mutter.

Sasori's face went red and he seemed utterly speechless, but just ended up laughing. Maybe I should stop telling everyone that my boobs are growing... Hey, they asked what my problem was..


	14. Chapter 14

****Chapter 14****

"Alright, your two days of resting is up, how are you all feeling?" Chitori asks.  
>"I am perfect!" I reply.<br>"Better than perfect!" Ren exclaims.  
>"I am really really really hungry!" Kiyoshi exclaims with a salute. We all face him. "What? I didn't have breakfast. You said we had to get here early."<br>"Yeah, 5am is kinda early." Ren says.  
>"What are you two whining about!" I question. They both look at me.<br>"She's right! What kind of Genin are we if we whinge about getting up early?" Ren says.  
>"... Can we have breakfast though?" Kiyoshi asks. Chitori folds her arms and huffs.<br>"Why didn't you eat?" Chitori asks.  
>"Because I wanted to be here on time!" Kiyoshi says.<br>".. I'm hungry too." I say. Kiyoshi smirks and Chitori glares at me. "Can we have something to eat?"  
>"Oh alright alright. I'm not sure if anything is open at this hou-"<br>"To Tezukuri!" Kiyoshi declares.  
>"Hai!" I reply, the two of us run off to our favorite caferestaurant known as Tezukuri. Ren chased after us and Chitori stood there shaking her head.

"But it on Chitori's account." I say. Ren and Kiyoshi chuckle behind me.  
>"Very well, I shall put the bill on Chitori-san's account, have a good day." Says the girl behind the counter and she writes it down. We then go out and meet Chitori where we left her.<br>"You lot have been gone a while, are you all full now?" She asks. We all smile and nod. "... What?"  
>"What?" I ask.<br>".. Nothing, come on." She says and stands up. We follow her to the training grounds.

"Woo! Does this mean we're training!" Kiyoshi asks.  
>"No! I want to go on a mission!" I complain.<br>".. Yeah, what she said." Ren says.  
>"Yeah yeah, first you three have to fight me so I can get an understanding of your prowess." Chitori says. Me and Kiyoshi smirk at each other.<br>"Do we start now?" I ask.  
>"Yes." She says, getting into a fighting stance. Ren figured out what me and Kiyoshi are about to do and steps back. Me and Kiyoshi stand next to each other.<br>"Destructive Searing Gale Jutsu!" Me and Kiyoshi say and do a few hand signs. I blow out a strong gust of wind and he blows out a large body of fire, the two of them combine and become intense, the fire-like wind blew towards Chitori, she wasn't expecting something quite this powerful and couldn't dodge it.  
>"Water Style: Colliding Wave Jutsu!" She says and a giant wave of water came forth to put out the fire, but because the fire was so strong, the water only ended up evaporating from the heat and Chitori got burned.<br>"We win." I say. Kiyoshi gives me a hi-five.  
>"Now for our ultimate technique!" Ren exclaims. We nod and Chitori holds her burn on her arm. I run at her, and send a kick to her stomach, sending her flying backwards, Ren sprinted to get behind her then kicked her in the back, sending her upwards. Kiyoshi jumps up and does a spinning kick, hitting her stomach, and sending her down at the ground, just before she came in contact with the ground, me and Ren grabbed one of her arms and threw her at the nearby wall, she crashed right through it. "Ultimate Collaboration Taijutsu Technique!" It took us four months to be able to perfect that. We look at our sensei, she was motionless. We smirk.<br>"We won!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Are you three really <em>that<em> naive?" Chitori asks, then the next thing I know, there is a kunai at my throat. I notice there are three Chitori's, each holding a kunai at our throats. We gasp. I look back at the one we smashed into the wall, it collapsed into a small puddle of water.  
>"W-what's going on!" Kiyoshi questions.<br>"Can't you three figure out the difference between a clone and a real person?" She asks. We were all thinking the same thing. One of these had to be the real Chitori. We all in sync, spin around, tripping the clones over. To our surprise, all three turned into water.  
>"WHAT!" Kiyoshi shouts. I look around in a hurry. I saw Chitori sitting on top of a nearby building.<br>"How many clones will it take?" She asks.  
>"Kill the sensei!" Kiyoshi shouts then jumps toward her, what puzzled me is that she didn't move and allowed herself to get hit.<br>"Come on Ayama!" Ren says. I nod and we both go to finish her off.

"You three are really pathetic.. You know that?" Chitori says. The three of us lay on the ground panting. "All this time you three have been under my genjutsu and all of you failed to notice."  
>"No.. wonder.." I pant.<br>"Though, some of those moves were quite surprising. Especially that collaboration jutsu with the fire and wind. Where did you two learn that?" She asks.  
>"We.. figured.. it out.. ourselves.." I pant.<br>"Interesting. Well I've noticed you three seem to excel in taijutsu. But Ren I didn't see you perform any ninjutsu." She says.  
>"I.. can't.. only.. taijutsu.." Ren pants.<br>"You.. were.. too.. lazy.. to.. learn.." I pant.  
>"You.. can.. do.. it.." Kiyoshi pants.<br>"Nah.." Ren pants.  
>"Well, I think tomorrow we should go on a mission." Chitori says.<br>"We still have plenty of hours left in the day!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet.  
>"Yeah!" Kiyoshi exclaims and jumps to his feet. Ren seems quite content laying there.<br>"I thought you three were out of breath just a second ago." She says, scratching her chin.  
>"That's nothing!" I reply.<br>"Alright, well, lets go visit Kazekage-sama for our- your first mission." She says.  
>"Yeah!" Kiyoshi cheers.<br>"Come on Ren! I'm not carrying you this time!" I exclaim and the four of us jump off, headed for the Kazekage's office.

"Hm? Well.. aren't you three just the youngest squad." The Kazekage says.  
>"Hi sir!" I say.<br>"Hm? You're Ayama, right?"  
>"Hai!" I reply. I am happy he remembers me.<br>"So I take it, you three are here for a mission?" He asks. All three of us salute him.  
>"Hai!"<br>"Hahaha, very well, Chitori, take this mission, I'm sure it will make a good first mission for these three." He says and hands out an envelope to Chitori who takes it and begins reading it.  
>"Hm.. yes, I think this is a good mission for them. Well then, let us be off." Chitori says then we follow her outside.<p>

"What's our mission!" We ask.  
>"This mission suits your fighting desires. We have to search for a rogue ninja by the name of Gushiken Masa, and bring him to justice." Chitori exclaims.<br>"WOO! KILL THE RO-"  
>"THERE WILL BE NO KILLING!" Chitori shouts over Kiyoshi.<br>"Hey.. it's just a phrase.. no need to yell.." Kiyoshi grumbles, looking down. I give him a pat on the back.  
>"Chitori-sensei, we say to kill things but we don't actually kill. That would be against our nature." I explain. She blinks a few times.<br>"Heh, like those chickens." Ren mentions, making us laugh.  
>"Don't tell me you three attack chickens." Chitori groans.<br>"Hai, it's fun." Ren replies.  
>"So how strong is this guy?" Ren asks.<br>"Well obviously being left in the hands of new Genin, I'm sure he wont be that strong." Chitori says.  
>".. Do we have to bring him back in one piece?" Ren asks.<br>"Ugh, yes." Chitori groans.  
>"So can we break his bones?" I ask.<br>"What is with you three!" She questions.  
>"Hahaha, we're joking, JOKING!" Kiyoshi says, giggling.<br>"Still, I wonder how strong this guy is. Hopefully he'll be stronger than anyone at the academy." I say.  
>"Yeah, well at least we wont have to hold back." Ren says.<br>"... We never have held back." I mention.  
>"Heh, true." Kiyoshi chuckles.<br>"But who cares? That just proves how strong we really are!" Ren exclaims.

"I'm getting excited." I say.  
>"Why?" Chitori asks.<br>"It's our first time out of the village!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Yeah, just think, through this arch is the outside of the village.. I'm so excited." I say.<br>"... Yep.. come on." Chitori says, trying to make us move faster.

When we get to the other end of the arch, we all gasp at the sight of the desert.  
>"It's so.. awesome!" I exclaim.<br>"Yeah!" Kiyoshi agrees.  
>"Hey look! A cactus! A wild cactus!" Ren shouts, pointing to a cactus beside a broken wooden fence. We run over to it.<br>"Why do I get students who attack chickens and are easily fascinated by cacti?" Chitori grumbles.  
>"Look how big the thorns are!" Ren mentions.<br>"These are like monsters compared to the cacti in that cacti shop!" I say.  
>"CHITORI-SENSEI! CAN I KEEP IT?" Kiyoshi calls.<br>"NO!" She shouts back. "Hurry up, we must get going!"  
>"The sand really is strong out here." Ren says, bringing his arms up to his eyes.<br>"Yeah, so is the wind." I add. We go back over to Chitori and follow her.

About three days later, we finally got to the end of the desert and found ourselves in a place where the hard sand ground turned into dirt, and giant rocks everywhere, and there was hardly any sand around. We were all covered in sand from head to toe, and our eyes hurt and are bloodshot from rubbing them so much from the sand. Chitori was absolutely fine though, probably that headgear she wears..  
>"Where are we now?" Ren asks.<br>"This is the borderline of the Land of Wind. We're going into the Land of Rivers." Chitori replies.  
>"So where is this guy we have to bring down?" I ask.<br>"In the Land of Rivers. It's been heard that Masa has been hiding in Tanigakure for quite some time." Chitori explains.  
>"How long will it take to get there?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"Well, if we keep up this pace, we should get there in about two days. And be careful, if us Suna ninjas are spotted by a Tanigakure ninja, they might think we are enemies, so be prepared to fight." Chitori mentions.  
>"Now she tells us!" Kiyoshi complains.<br>"Full speed ahead!" Ren shouts and takes off.  
>"R-Ren!" I shout, but he was being the non-listening person he is, and kept going, ignorant to the consequences. The worst part is that none of us could stop him because he is so fast.<p>

We finally caught up to him, but he was laying on the ground.  
>"Ren!" I shout and jump down to him from the tall droopy trees. I saw a bit of blood and panic. "REN!" I shout, and shake him. He groans as he opens his eyes.<br>"Huh?" He sits up and rubs his head which had a cut on it and was bleeding. By now Chitori-sensei and Kiyoshi found and jump down to us.  
>"What happened?" I ask.<br>"I.. don't remember.." Ren replies. Chitori looks around, inspecting the area.  
>"Dude, were you attacked?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"No, I don't think so." Ren says.  
>"He tripped." Chitori says, pointing to a root sticking out of the ground. "Judging by the distance, and little skid marks here, he tripped on this root, and hit his head on that rock." Damn she's smart. I think I envy her now.<br>"What kind of a ninja trips!" Ren shouts, standing up and grimacing at her.  
>"You obviously." She replies.<br>"You know, I think she's right." I say, picking up on what she explained. Then Ren looked like he just remembered what happened and he frowns and folds his arms.  
>"Fine, whatever.. I tripped, leave me alone." Ren grumbles. I laugh.<br>"Come here, I'll fix that cut." Chitori says, then does so.

"Is that him?" Kiyoshi whispers. Chitori quickly compares that guy's face to the one on the paper.  
>"Yes." She whispers back. "Alright, we'll come up with a pla-"<br>"DIE!" Ren shouts, and charges straight at the guy, pinning him to the ground, Ren starts punching the crap out of him before the guy could even realize what was happening. Chitori sighs, and me and Kiyoshi join him. Masa throws Ren off him, but I catch Ren before he smacks into a nearby tree.  
>"Thanks." He says. I nod.<br>"Who are you!" Masa snarls.  
>"We're Sunagakure ninja! We're here to bring you down!" Kiyoshi exclaims. By the positions of us three, our ultimate collaboration taijutsu technique would work. But it appears them two were too pumped and worked up to realize and they ruined it by hastily charging at Masa. I stand by for now.<br>"Baka." Chitori gushes, but remains hidden in the trees.  
>"What're three kids like you gonna do? Do you seriously think you can bring me down? <em>Me<em>?" Masa scoffs. At the very second Masa sent Ren and Kiyoshi flying, I jump into action.  
>"Blade of Wind!" I say, sending almost deadly slices of wind at him. He just manages to avoid it, but I managed to slice his upper arm slightly.<br>"You little bitch, you'll pay for that!" He growls.  
>"Ayama!" Kiyoshi shouts in panic. '<em>Think fast Ayama!<em>' I grab my bamboo stick and start spinning it. I regret not grabbing my scroll containing Suki, she'd be a great help.  
>"Lightning Blade Jutsu!" Masa says, then shoots a blade of lightning at me, but then the unexpected happened. Chitori jumped from the trees and pushed me out of the way, she got hit, but only slightly.<br>"You three are hopeless!" She complains.  
>"Oh? And who's this?" Masa asks. "Your teacher? Heh, pathetic." Chitori eyes him with irritation. I jump from the ground, still spinning my bamboo.<br>"Wind Slice Jutsu." I mutter, then swing my bamboo stick, sending a very deadly slice of wind at Masa from the swing of the bamboo. He noticed it at the last second and managed to dodge it somehow. While he was distracted, Kiyoshi jumped in with his Fireball Jutsu, which caught a bit of my wind jutsu and strengthened it. The fireball hit Masa, and started burning him. I sigh of relief. We got him. We stood by as he burned. Being the Land of Rivers, this place is indeed full of rivers, and one could be heard nearby. I knew we couldn't let him near it, otherwise he'd put out the fire. I'm sure Ren and Kiyoshi knew this too. Then Masa extinguished the flames somehow, and revealed his pretty serious burns. Any attack now would give him absolute pain. I smirk. Bamboo hurts. I can be a bitch at times. Like now.  
>I jump down and whack him with my bamboo stick and he cried out in pain. I kept whacking him (it's fun) and Kiyoshi wanted to join, so he started punching the guy. Ren just watches.<p>

"One mission success!" I exclaim.  
>"Yeah, good job. You really got him good." Chitori says.<br>"... I'm not carrying him, so stop looking at me." Ren grumbles. Kiyoshi punches the air.  
>"I will! I am the strongest, so I will carry him!" Kiyoshi exclaims.<p>

A Week Later

We finally arrive back in the village, and I've never been happier to see it. We are all worn out, and I really need to rest - yes, I'll admit that, just this once.  
>Once we get through the arch I smile. I saw Baki with his squad, they seemed to be heading toward the arch, toward us. I wave at him, capturing his attention. His visible eye widened and his jaw dropped. He ran at me and unexpectedly gives me a bear hug when he reaches me.<br>"Ayama! Where the hell have you been the last two weeks!" He questions, he sounded really worried.  
>"On my first mission." I reply. Baki lets me go and looks at my squad, then at Masa who Chitori was carrying. "We went to the Land of Rivers!" I exclaim.<br>"Really! I haven't even been out of the Land of Wind yet!" Baki says. "But you never told me about that mission, I've been worried sick about you.. even Sasori was worried."  
>"Sasori? Crap.. sorry guys, I gotta get going!" I say, they all give me a startled look but before anything else happened, I ran off.<br>"Ayama! Where're you going!" Kiyoshi calls.  
>"I need to see someone!" I call back, then disappear.<p>

"Hm? Oh Ayama-chan, haven't seen you in a while." Chiyo says. "Why do you look so battered?"  
>"I just got back from a mission." I reply.<br>"Oh? A mission eh? Well come in, I'm sure Sasori will be overwhelmed to know you're alright." Chiyo says and allows me in. "Sasori!"  
>"What?" Sasori calls back.<br>"Ayama's here."  
>"What!" Sasori came running, and looked really shocked to see that I'm actually here, standing in his house. He stood there staring at me with wide eyes for a moment.<br>"I um.. went on a mission, I didn't get to tell anyone." I say.  
>"A-Ayama.." He breathes, still in slight shock. I walk up to him.<br>"Sorry." I say. A smile came across his face and he knelt down and hugged me. This was unexpected.  
>"Thank goodness. I've been worried sick." He says. I smile and hug him back.<br>"Sasori?"  
>"Hm?"<br>"I got to go to the Land of Rivers!" I exclaim, breaking the hug.  
>"Really? Tell me about this mission you went on." He says. I nod.<p>

"And yeah, that's pretty much it." I say.  
>"How come you get an awesome mission? I haven't been on one like that." Baki complains.<br>"Because I'm awesome." I snigger.  
>"Yeah yeah." Baki grumbles and rolls over onto his back. I close my eyes.<br>"Baki?"  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Goodnight." I say.  
>"Goodnight." He replies. Not long after, the two of us fell fast asleep.<p>

_"The Kazekage is dead!"_  
><em>"Wh-what!" I question along with the crowd of other people.<br>"I think he was assassinated!"  
>"No! He was poisoned!"<br>"No! He had a heart attack!"  
><em>_"Guys! Listen up! Lord Kazekage was kidnapped and killed by S-"_

Something hit my face and woke me up. I grimace at the dark room. I sit up and rub my eyes then look around. I couldn't see anything. Then I realized Baki had fallen out of bed and had rolled around on the floor and just whacked by face in his sleep. I frown. Why does my mattress have to be so low? I sigh and shove him, waking him up.  
>"Wh.."<br>"Get back in your own bed and give my blankets back." I grumble. He blinks a few times.  
>"Uh.. how did I get down here?" He asks.<br>"Beats me." I reply. He groans and stands up, being the nice friend he is, he puts my blankets over me properly, and tries to be funny by tucking me in, but I let him, and he gets back in his own bed. I feel a hundred more times comfortable when I'm tucked in with the blankets. I smile as I drift off to sleep again.


	15. Chapter 15

****Chapter 15****

On that morning, I wake up with Baki beside me, he fell out of bed.. Again. Not only is he wrapped up in my blankets like a cocoon, but his head is on my pillow too. As if once a night wasn't enough. Do I perhaps have better blankets or something? I frown at him, it's no wonder I felt a chill. I flick his nose, and he snapped awake, and tried to jump up, but the blankets bound him too tightly. He blinks a few times.  
>"Really Baki? You already woke me up at midnight with this same issue." I complain. He raises an eyebrow, confused himself.<br>"So I didn't fall off that cliff..." He mutters.  
>"What?" I ask. He shakes his head.<br>"Nothing... Say, can you help me out of this?" He asks, giving me a pleading look. I smirk, and help him out of the blankets. He scratches the back of his head as he stands up.  
>"Err, mornin'." He says. I nod.<br>"Come on, we got another great da- OW!"  
>"Ayama!" Baki panics, I hold my arm. I think the pain has finally caught up with me from pushing myself too hard. "Are you alright?"<br>"Y-yeah, perfectly fine." I say. Baki shakes his head.

"I wonder how sore Ren and Kiyoshi are." I say as the two of us walk down the barren streets.  
>"Heh, a two week mission for your first is pretty rough." Baki says.<br>"Yeah, but it was fun." I say.  
>"I bet it wa-"<br>"OH MY GOD!" I shout, stopping. Baki becomes panicked.  
>"What what!" He questions. I start running. Baki follows, but couldn't quite keep up. I stop after about two meters, Baki ran straight into me as he wasn't expecting me to suddenly stop like that. The force knocked me over, and the two of us lay on the ground, I push him off and stand up. "What is it?"<br>"LOOK!" I shout. Baki looks up at the building we're standing outside of. He frowns.  
>"Ayama.. What's so special abou-"<br>"SPECIALS!" I exclaim, and burst inside, once in, I was absolutely amazed. I run up to the counter, by then Baki walks through the door. "Is everything here on sale?" I ask.  
>"Mmhmm, clearance sale." He replies.<br>"Sweet!" I exclaim then begin looking around. Where am I you ask? Why, none other than the puppetry store. There were parts everywhere, even hanging from the ceiling. I begin looking around at everything in awe. Baki follows me around, trying to get my attention - without prevail. As I stare at one of the benches while speed-walking along, I accidentally bump into someone, and made him drop the few things he was holding. "Ahh, sorry sorry!" I say and kneel down and start picking the things up.  
>"Hahaha, be careful, you don't wanna cut yourself again." I know that voice. I look up at the person smirking at me.<br>"Sasori!" I exclaim. Then his words registered in my head and I frown. "I wont cut myself again! That's a once in a lifetime thing!" He chuckles and kneels down.  
>"Still, I don't want that chance to pop up." He says. Baki chuckles and I glare at him. Sasori picks everything up and I hand him what I picked up. There were a few arms and a lot of funny-shaped blades.<br>"How much stuff are you gonna get?" I ask.  
>"Hey, it's a clearance sale, I'm probably gonna end up buying this whole shop." Sasori sniggers.<br>"Hey can you help me pick out some things for Suki?" I ask. He nudges his head to a nearby stand.  
>"Over there, there are some pretty neat stuff. I suggest you check it out." Sasori says. I nod and grab Baki's wrist and pull him behind me, he didn't expect this and almost lost his footing.<p>

"... Ayama, was buying that much stuff really necessary?" Baki grumbles.  
>"Hai, now I will make Suki even stronger!" I say.<br>"But.. oh never mind.."

We go back to Baki's house to put the two full bags in his room for later, then we go off and meet up with our squads.

"Where the heck have you been Ayama?" Kiyoshi questions.  
>"Shopping." I reply.<br>"Crap, you've gone girly on us." Ren says with a look of horror. I laugh and shake my head.  
>"There was a clearance sale at the puppetry shop." I reply. The both roll their eyes - they know my obsession for puppetry stuff.<br>"Heh, to think girls your age would normally shop for clothes and jewelry, yet you shop for puppets." Chitori laughs.  
>"... What's so bad about puppets?" I ask, my serious face coming to life.<br>"Nothing at all!" She laughs. I blink once.  
>"So like.. can we go train now?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"Yeah!" I reply.  
>"Uh, I'm pretty tired.. I think I'll sit this one out." Ren says.<br>"Now he's getting lazy. Ren just because we became ninjas, doesn't mean you get to slack off!" I exclaim. He frowns and blinks at me.  
>"Fine, I'll practice my genjutsu." Ren says. Me and Kiyoshi crack up laughing.<br>"You? Genjutsu? Gahahahaha." I laugh.  
>"Well there's always time to try, you two can practice your taijutsu or whatever, and I'll help Ren learn genjutsu." Chitori says. Ren raises a fist to the air.<br>"I'll learn and excel at genjutsu!" Ren declares.

"He's absolutely hopeless." Chitori grumbles. Me and Kiyoshi had collapsed on the training field. Chitori blinks a few times. Ren yawns.  
>"Well, I'll leave 'em to you sensei, I'm off." Ren says then leaves. Chitori sighs.<br>"You two really like pushing yourselves to the limit don't you?" Chitori says, waking us up. I only groan and slap her hand away, my half-conscious self thought it was Baki again. I roll over on the hard ground and start snoring slightly. Kiyoshi was feeling pretty exhausted himself, he sat up but fell back over again. "... Guys, I'm not letting you sleep on the streets, get up." We both groan in unison. Chitori frowns. She stood up and cleared her throat. "YOUTWOGETYOURASSESUPNOW!" She shouts, waking us both right up, we freaked out so much that we ended up hugging each other for protection. We blink at Chitori a few times and she sigh.  
>"Kiyoshi.. lets go." I murmur into his ear.<br>"Yeah, I'm with you.." He murmurs back. We kept hold of each other as we side-stepped past Chitori then ran for it.

I don't know where we ended up, but it was someplace unfamiliar.  
>"Kiyoshi." I whisper.<br>"What?" He whispers back.  
>"Where are we?" I ask.<br>"Dunno, lets go back." He whispers. We nod on it and retrace our steps until we find the main street (which is the straight road from the arch to the Kazekage's building)  
>"Now, Baki's house is down that way." I point.<p>

"What?" I ask.  
>"Um, my house is right there." He says then points to a nearby house.<br>"Well, goodnight." I say.  
>"But don't you want me to walk you home?" He asks. I laugh.<br>"What's gonna get me?" I ask.  
>"But there are bad people around at this hour."<br>"So? They don't stand a chance against me." I declare.  
>"Are you sure?" He asks. I nod confidently.<br>"Alright, goodnight." he says. I wave to him as he walks to his house. I then take off running for my life towards Baki's house, although I showed no fear, deep down, I was freaking petrified. I kept my eyes open in case anyone was to jump out suddenly.

I was only two streets away when I trip on a rock and fell face first. and slid a bit. "Crap.." I breathe. I jump back to me feet, and start running again. Just then I saw someone fly across the air screaming, then he hits a building and falls many feet before hitting the ground. I had one thought. '_Ouch._'  
>I stood frozen in fear as another went flying backwards, but didn't quite reach the building. I heard fighting grunts and shouts. I started slowly backing away, when I bumped into someone. They grabbed me and picked me up off the ground by my shirt. Panic was my first reaction.<br>"HELP!" I scream, then realized I probably shouldn't have done that.  
>"Shut up girl." Snarls the man who had hold of me. I notice a person jump around the corner, being attacked by many people. What the hell is going on? "Heh, here he comes." I squint my eyes to try and recognize the person being attacked. He was moving in an odd way, and people were randomly sent flying, even though he wasn't touching them, but he was wearing a hoodie, so I couldn't see his head. Then I realized he was manipulating a puppet, judging his very fast arm movements, and his jumping around which was also very fast, the people attacking him couldn't keep up, and the puppet was knocking them out. I almost forgot I was being held up for a second. The panic came back.<br>"HEL-" The man slapped his hand across my mouth, but my voice was loud enough to capture that person's attention. He turned his head in my direction for a split second, then went back to fighting the other people. I was doomed. The person didn't care. But then the person looks back at me with a shocked expression, though I couldn't see his face from the dark. He jumped at the person holding me up off the ground, totally disbanding the people trying to attack him. He got hit with a few kunai in the back as he ran towards the person holding me, all this happened to fast and my mind came close to going blank when he grunted in pain from the kunai. He then sent a punch, I freaked out because it looked like it was going to hit me, but then it went past me, hitting the person then he grabbed me and jumps up to the roof of a nearby building, where the other people were on his tail.  
>"Are you alright?" He pants, sounding in pain and exhausted. I could swear I've heard that voice before, but I couldn't be sure. My mind blanked out for a moment, and before I could respond, he held my tighter and starts jumping again, as the people had found him. Just then he stopped and fell down a small gap between two buildings. Most of the people kept going, not realizing he jumped down but some caught on and jumped down too. The person put me down against the tall fence and stood in front of me. I couldn't believe how many kunai were in his back, it actually scared me.<br>"Give up!" One of the people shouted.  
>"No! I will not allow you to touch her!" The person shouts. I knew that voice, but it was the tone I wasn't familiar with - a mix of utter pain and anger. I still can't figure out who it is.<br>"Such a fool! You'll die this night." Scowls one of the attackers.  
>"Fool! You'll be the ones to die!" He shouts then reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a scroll, and unrolls it, just then a poof of smoke and what seemed to be thousands of kunai's came flying out, I look away as blood covered the area. I curl into a ball and bury my head in my arms with fear. I heard a lot of bodies thump against the ground. The person protecting me let out a large breath and fell to his knees. I didn't dare look, I just tense up and wish this wasn't happening. The person pulled out some kunai and grunted in pain as he did so. He then crawled over to me and put his bloody hand on my shoulder, making me cringe. ".. Are.. you.. alright?" He pants. I reply with a whine. He pants and collapses next to me. My eyes widen as his hand fell. My watery eyes slowly dared to turn to him. His hood was pulled back slightly and I could make out bright red hair. I squint my eyes and dared to pull his hood off completely. His face was covered with blood, so I couldn't see it clearly, but I would recognize that hair anywhere.<br>"S-S-Sasori?" I quietly stutter, no reaction. I left my ball and put my hand against his back, he was still breathing. I look around at the dead bodies, it really scared me.  
>"THERE HE IS!" I gasp and look up. All the other people had found us, and jumped down, there are so many. I begin to quiver.<br>"Heh, what's this? A little girl?"  
>"Pathetic. Move aside girl." They growl.<br>"Wh-what do you want with Sasori?" I ask.  
>"We're gonna kill him." They reply. I can't let them do that. I shake my head, dismissing my fear. I'm a shinobi. I must protect my comrades.<br>"No!" I growl.  
>"Hahaha! How hilarious, a little girl thinks she can stand up to us?" They laugh. I have to be brave. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, removing all fear. I look at them with confidence. I will beat them. I have to protect Sasori.<br>"Wind Style: Slicing Tornado!" I say, then create a tornado that slices everything it touches. I send it towards them, managing to hit a few of them.  
>"Whoa! She's actually kinda stron-"<br>"Wind Style: Razor Gust!" The wind slices through many of them. I'm now right into it. "Blade of Wind!"  
>"GAAAAH!"<br>After finishing them off, I stood there panting. I was already exhausted from training, now my chakra is running dangerously low. Once I realized none of them are going to get up I turn back to Sasori, who is still in the same position. I kneel down to him and gently pull out the kunai. I knew nothing about medical stuff, but my instincts told me to stop the blood. I take his hoodie off and wrap it around his chest so it covers his back. My vision was becoming blurry - not a good thing.  
>"S-Sasoriiiii." I groan as I felt like I was gonna pass out.<br>"Who goes there?" I weakly turn my head to see someone. '_Don't tell me he's after Sasori too.. I have no strength left to fight._' The man gasps at all the bodies, then looks at me. "You there! Did you do this?"  
>"Um..."<br>"You.. you're only a little girl! Goodness! What are you doing in a place like this!" He jumps over the bodies and comes to me.  
>"Please.. help Sasori.." I pant.<br>"Sasori? Girl, what happened?" He asks. I rub my eyes.  
>"Um, they attacked and.. I had to protect my friend." I say. He puts a hand on my shoulder.<br>"He looks pretty bad. Let me help." He says then takes to hoodie off his chest. I became concerned. The man then lifted Sasori's shirt up and put his hands over Sasori's back then this green glow appeared around his hands. I blinked a few times, regaining my consciousness. I stared in awe.  
>"Wh-what're you doing?" I ask.<br>"Healing him." He replies. I furrow my eyebrows. "It's medical ninjutsu." My interest sparked.

"Is he gonna be alright?" I question the nurse.  
>"I'm sure he'll be alright, but could you be a little more concerned about yourself?" She inquires.<br>"It's just a few bruises." I say.  
>"That and you're really low on chakra, do you realize if you use up all your chakra, you'll die?" She inquires.<br>"But I had to save Sasori!" I exclaim.  
>"AYAMA!" Baki shouts, bursting through the door. (It's like, midnight by now) I turn to him. He ran to the bed and plopped his hands on my shoulders. "I just heard you were here! Are you alright?"<br>"Yeah, I'm fine." I reply. he shakes his head.  
>"If you were you wouldn't be here!" He says. "What happened!" Before I could answer his mom came running.<br>"Baki! I told you not to burst in like that!" She scolds, coming into the room. He completely ignored her.  
>"What happened?" He repeats. I spread my arms out innocently.<br>"I was only protecting Sasori!" I exclaim. His eyes widen (he wasn't wearing his turban, and he was in his singlet and pajama pants).  
>"Protecting <em>Sasori<em>?"

"Oh.. so that's what happened. But why would people want Sasori dead?" Baki asks.  
>"I dunno, I'll ask him later." I reply.<br>"So which room is he in?" Baki asks.  
>"I think he's in the next room, but I'm not allowed in there yet. Um, no one is actually." I say. "But I know one thing!"<br>"What?"  
>"I'm gonna study medical ninjutsu!" I say.<br>"Huh? Why? That's like, really hard." he says.  
>"So what? Next time I want to be able to save someone." I say.<br>"Oh, you've got a point there." He says.  
>"Well, it's late, come on Baki, we'll come visit Ayama tomorrow." His mom says. Baki pouts at her.<br>"It's alright Baki, I'll be fine." I reply. He jumps off the side of the bed.  
>"Okay.. well, goodnight Ayama." He says.<br>"Goodnight." I reply and wave as they leave.

Worst night of my life. The hospital bed is so uncomfortable. I barely got any sleep during the remaining hours of darkness and I really needed some sleep. There's no way they'll let me out to train today. It's not fair.  
>"Good morning Ayama." Says a nurse as she walks in. I stare at her then sit up.<br>"How's Sasori?" I question, demanding an answer.  
>"Huh? He's alright, but is that the only thing you think about?" She asks.<br>"Yes! I need to kno- can I visit him? PLEASE!" I plead, even giving a puppy-dog face. She raises an eyebrow. "PLEEEEAAAAASSSEEEEEE?"  
>"Oh alright alright. But only for a little while, you need your rest too." She says, then grabs the paperwork hanging from the end of my bed and starts writing something and I spring out of bed.<br>"Lets go!" I say.  
>"Wh-wait, A-Ayama, tch geez." She gushes then chases after me.<br>"Which room, which room WHICH ROOM!" I question, looking at both doors on either side of my room. The nurse huffs and goes to the one on the left. She knocks then slowly begins opening the door but I push past her and burst in. I run up to the bed and Sasori is still unconscious. He had bandages wrapped around his chest and his shirt and hoodie were torn and laying on the table beside his bed. "Sasori!" I call, but no reaction. He had a few cords sticking into his body and monitors were beeping and he had an IV in his arm too. His heartbeat was normal according to the sound of the monitor.  
>"Ayama, don't try an wake him up, he needs rest." The nurse quietly gushes.<br>"But.."  
>"Don't worry, he's going to be fine." She says. "... Now are you happy that you've seen him?"<br>"Yeah."  
>"Good, now back in your room." She says, pointing to the door. I frown, but have no option but to obey.<p>

The first few hours of the day went really slowly. I had nothing to do, I just basically stared out the window. There was a knock on the door and I snapped out of my daze as my squad walks in.  
>"Ayama!" Kiyoshi exclaims and runs up to my bed. "I knew I should've gone home with you last night!"<br>"No, it's fine. See? I'm perfectly fine." I say.  
>"What happened? You never turned up and we got worried." Ren says, jumping on the end of the bed. Chitori glares at him as she comes in. Kiyoshi jumps on the side of the bed.<br>"Well.."

"Oh, _Sasori_? Seriously!" Ren questions. I nod.  
>"He's in the next room, but the nurses wont let anyone see him except for Chiyo and Ebizo-san." I reply.<br>"How long are you going to be in here?" Chitori asks.  
>".. I dunno." I reply. She rolls her eyes.<br>"I'll go speak with the nurse.. you two, don't pester her too much." Chitori says then walks out. Kiyoshi and Ren roll their eyes.  
>"So you really did that? That's so cool!" Kiyoshi says.<br>"Yeah, I should've been there to beat all up for ya." Ren says.  
>"Heh, I managed to do it myself. Also I'm gonna learn medical ninjutsu, so whenever you two get hurt I can fix it." I say. They look at each other then at me.<br>"Stop it." Kiyoshi grumbles.  
>"What?" I ask.<br>"Trying to get stronger than us. You're like the next puppet master, and you're a pro at taijutsu, ninjutsu and that bamboo thingy is extraordinary, and not to mention you're really hard to find." Kiyoshi complains. I felt flattered. Was I really that good? "And now you want to be a medic too!"  
>"Yup." I reply happily.<br>"Ayama, you're getting too good. We're gonna have to catch up." Kiyoshi says.  
>"... Nah, I'm cool. She can be stronger than me." Ren says. Kiyoshi slapped his face.<br>"Don't be lazy! You're getting worse everyday! What happened to the old jumpy and determined you?" Kiyoshi questions. I sit up straight and cross my legs.  
>"Yeah, Kiyoshi's right!" I say. Ren rolls his eyes. He has gotten very lazy lately.<p>

"They're letting you out in another three days from today." Chitori reports. I frown at her.  
>"There's nothing wrong with me!" I exclaim.<br>"They say you need to rest and recover." She says. I sigh irritably.  
>"Hehehehe, sucks to be you." Kiyoshi chuckles.<br>"Alright, come on you two, we'll keep training." Chitori says, leading them out. We all wave to each other as they left.

As the day progressed, things just kept getting worse, well, mainly because it was damn boring, and two, I wasn't allowed to visit Sasori. I sigh again, wondering if he's awake yet. I desperately needed something to do. Then suddenly..

^^ Cliffhanger ;D


	16. Chapter 16

****Chapter 16****

Then suddenly I saw it. My entertainment. I smirk. A fly. It sat on the wall, moving around every few seconds or so. I look around for something to throw at it. I plan to kill it in one shot. I saw an empty syringe laying about and pull the needle out of it. I then go to aim, then just as I throw it, the door flies open, throwing off my aim, and the fly moved, and so, the syringe needle missed. I frown then face whoever it was that came running in. Baki. He had two familiar bags. I smirk.  
>"I thought you'd be bored as, so I brought these." He says. I spring out of bed. He hands me the scroll containing Suki.<br>"Thanks Baki!" I screech then bear hug him. "You have no idea how bored I've been!"  
>"... Why did you throw that needle at the wall?"<br>"Oh, I was trying to hit that fly." I explain, pointing to the fly.  
>"Wow... you must be pretty bored then." He chuckles. I laugh and let go of him.<p>

Within minutes I had Suki laying across the table that sits over the bed, and I had all the body parts and stuff I brought scattered across the bed. Baki watched me as I got right into it. I was gonna make Suki the strongest puppet ever.  
>"Uh, yeah Ayama?" Baki says, he had that tone as if he just remembered something.<br>"Hn?"  
>"I uh, found this too." Baki says, holding up a third bag.<br>"What is it?" I ask, looking at the bag with curiosity.  
>"I think it's Sasori-kun's puppet." He says.<br>"Sasori-kun's?" I ask. Then I remember when he saved me, he completely ditched his puppet. I look down.  
>"It's a little.. broken." He says. I want to fix it for him but I don't want to do it wrong.<br>"How bad is it?" I ask.  
>"Not that bad, I think it's arms are snapped." He says. "But I gathered all the parts so.."<br>"Man.. I wish I could fix it for him.." I mutter. I look at Baki and smile. "So what are you up to now?" I ask.  
>"Ah nothing. Just finished training with my squad." he replies.<br>"Sounds fun.." I grumble, a little jealous.. Okay, I was REALLY jealous.  
>"Hehe, but at least now you got something to do." He says.<br>"True. I suppose this is a good chance to work on it, considering I'm not allowed to leave." I reply. Baki nods.  
>"Make sure you rest up, 'kay?" He says.<br>"Yeah, yeah. I will." I reply and continue adding these parts to Suki, and putting the small blades in hidden places like Sasori taught me.  
>"Ayama." Baki says in that naggy voice. I smile at him.<br>"I will I will. Promise." I reply. He chuckles and shakes his head. He didn't believe me, but I wasn't really being serious either. I look back and forth between Suki and Baki. "Are you doing anything now?"  
>"No, why?" He asks.<br>"Stay." I say. "I need someone to talk to."  
>"Alright." He replies, like he wasn't intending to leave in the first place.<p>

That late afternoon, Baki had to leave because the mean old nurse kicked him out saying that visiting hours were over. Baki waves as he leaves and I wave back. I then face the nurse who grabs the paperwork at the end of my bed. I stare at her as she begins writing stuff.  
>"... How's Sasori-kun?" I ask. She sighs.<br>"Ayama, he's fine. Stop asking." She sighs.  
>"Can I see h-"<br>"No." I fold my arms and huff. Once she finished writing stuff down she turns around. "Are you hungry?"  
>"No." I reply.<br>"Alright. Call us when you are." She says then leaves. I roll my eyes. I get out of bed, putting Suki aside for now, and sneak out of my room. I go into Sasori's room. I walk up to his bed. He still seemed to be unconscious. I sigh and pull up a chair beside his bed. I sit my arms on the side of his bed and rest my cheek on them, staring at the wall.  
>"Sasori-kun.. you're in here because you were trying to protect me. I shouldn't have been out so late.. but then again.. would you have been alright on your own?" I mutter. I lift my head at look at him. I notice his hand twitch. "Sasori?" His eyes open slowly, then he blinks and looks around. Then he saw me.<br>"A-Ayama?" He croaks, then goes to sit up, but cringes in pain and remains lying down.  
>"Thank goodness!" I reply and stand up.<br>"Am I.. in hospital?" He croaks, then clears his throat.  
>"Yeah, I am too. I'm not supposed to be in here, but they wont know." I reply. A feeble smile came across his lips. He clears his throat again.<br>"What happened? I remember asking if you were okay, but after that is blank." He says, then attempts to sit up again. He winces but ignores the pain. He rubs his eyes and scratches his forehead under his fringe.  
>"Um, you collapsed then the other people who were attacking you appeared, but I finished them off." I announce proudly. I heard him gasp, and he looks at me with concern.<br>"You did?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Yeah, why? Is something wrong?" I ask. He shakes his head.<br>"No, I'm just surprised you managed to defeat them all. Did you have help?" He asks. I shake my head.  
>"No, it was just me. But then this man came and started healing you. Apparently you were in a bad condition." I say.<br>"..." He looks out the open window, in a half-daze. "How long have I been out?"  
>"Um, well nearly two days." I reply. He nods.<br>"Do you know why they tried to do it?" I ask. He looks back at me and tilts his head to the side.  
>"Hm?"<br>"Why they were trying to kill you." I say. He blinks once.  
>"No.. I'm not sure... they just started attacking me." He says. He shakes his head. "Besides, what were you doing out so late anyway?"<br>"Uh, me and Kiyoshi fainted while training then when Chitori-sensei woke us up it was pretty late, so I was on my way home. But then that man grabbed me and yeah." I explain. Sasori opened his mouth to speak when the door flung open.  
>"Ayama! Get your butt back in your room!" I frown. The nurse stomps up to me. "Leave him alone and give him some peace would ya?"<br>".. She's quite fine." Sasori says. The nurse looks at him.  
>"You both need your rest." She says.<br>"I got something for you Sasori!" I exclaim then run out. I ran back in with Sasori's puppet in the bag. He looks at the bag curiously. "Baki-kun found it for you." I say. He takes it and looks in it.  
>"Oh, thank you." He says.<br>"It gets boring in here, so it's something to do." I say. He smiles and nods.  
>"... Now back in your room." She orders, pointing to the door. I sigh.<br>"I'm working on Suki, she's gonna be super strong." I say. Sasori nods.  
>"That's good. You'll have to show me when you're finished." He says.<br>"No." I say. He tilts his head to the side. The nurse sighs, folds her arms and taps her foot.  
>"No?" He asks.<br>"'Coz then you'll try and figure out all her secrets and stuff, then how will I beat you?" I say. He laughs.  
>"Alright." He chuckles.<br>"Ayama." The nurse growls. I sigh and roll my eyes.  
>"I'm going I'm going. Geez." I grumble. I wave to Sasori as I walk to the door. "I'm right next door." I say happily. He chuckles.<p>

The next morning after I woke up, I got Suki out and worked on her. She now has four arms instead of two, and more weapons concealed in her stomach and stuff. Being so content, I didn't even realize I had the biggest smile on my face while working on her.  
>"You seem happy." The nurse says. Her abrupt voice made me jump and the blade sticking out sliced the side of my hand, a big cut, from the tip of my pinky finger all the way down to my wrist.<br>"Ow!"  
>"Oh! Here let me fix that." She says and cleans up the blood and wraps my hand up. "What're you frowning about?" <em>'That's a once in a lifetime thing!... Psh, I've done it twice now. I can't tell Sasori, he'll laugh at me.'<em>  
>"I'm gonna get some sleep." I say.<br>"Good idea." She says, rolling her eyes.

"FREE AT LAST!" I shout, running down through the corridors of the hospital. Sasori could hear me because his door was open and he chuckles. I run in there excitedly. "Sasori! I'm free!"  
>"I heard."<br>"What about you? When do you get out?" I ask.  
>"As soon as these wounds heal." He replies.<br>"... How long will that take?" I ask.  
>"Probably a few more days. A week or so perhaps." He says. I pout for a second then smile.<br>"Then I promise I'll come visit you everyday!" I say. He nods.  
>".. Well what're you waiting for?" He asks.<br>"Huh?"  
>"You're free?" He says. It clicked.<br>"Right! I have to go train! Train!" I exclaim then run off. "See ya!" I call from the corridor. Sasori chuckles.

"REN! KIYOSHI! CHITORI-SENSEI! I'M FREEEEEEEE!" I shout, interrupting Chitori's lecture. Their faces lit up and they both stood up and ran towards me. We create the biggest group hug.  
>"How are you Ayama?" Chitori asks, walking over to us.<br>"Good as new! So when's our next mission?" I ask. She laughs.  
>"Yeah! When?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"Well, we haven't been called yet, so we'll just train for today." Chitori says.  
>"Woo! Training! Lets go Ayama! You and me!" Ren exclaims. My eyes widen, and I smile. It seems the old Ren is back.<br>"What about me!" Kiyoshi questions. Ren smirks.  
>"Against Kiyoshi!" He says.<br>"Wait what!" Kiyoshi questions, then me and Ren tackle him. Chitori rolls her eyes.  
>"Chitori-san!" We all look up and see the Kazekage's right-hand man, aka, Sukemaru, running towards us.<br>"What's up?" Chitori asks, putting her hand on her hip.  
>"Kazekage-sama wants to see you and your squad." Sukemaru says. Chitori nods.<br>"A'ight, you three, lets go." She says. We all stand up and salute her in sync. She rolls her eyes and we follow her to the Kazekage's office.

"Kazekage-sama, you called us?" Chitori asks.  
>"Yes, it's an emergency. You four are to go out, south, and find Kazuya and his squad and assist them in completing their mission." He replies. I gasp.<br>"What happened!" I question.  
>"They were under attack, they sent a note requesting assistance, they might be in a real harsh situation, so I need you four to leave immediately and help them." He replies. I shake my head in disbelief. Kazuya... He's..<p>

Another cliffhanger! ;D I'm so mean aren't I? Hehehe


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Are they okay?" I question. The Kazekage shakes his head.  
>"I'm afraid I haven't heard anything from them, I can only tell you where they <em>should <em>be located, and get there as fast as you can." He replies. I turn to my squad.  
>"Lets go!" I demand.<br>"Alright alright!" Chitori hushes. The Kazekage holds out a piece of paper containing the information we need, then we rush out after quickly going through it.

As we got to the arch, I look down. '_I hope you're alright.._' I look up and run faster, running ahead of them, though, outrunning Ren was out of the question. '_Baki.. I'm gonna save you.. please be alright.. I haven't started my medical training yet.. _'

It took 20 minutes before we got to the location where they _should_ be, now the problem was finding them. An explosion nearby gave us a hint.  
>"Kiyoshi, Ayama, Ren. Split." Chitori says. We all nod and jump off in separate directions. I think maybe 30 seconds later I heard someone cry out in pain. I hide behind a nearby catci and glimpse unseen. I saw Baki get sent flying backwards and almost gasp. He landed on his back, and looked up in fear as the attacker jumped above him and was gonna finish him off with a brutal attack. I grab my bamboo stick and run out, I stand beside Baki laying on the ground and swing at the attacker just before he hit Baki, and I send him flying backwards - all this happened so fast, none of them realized what just happened. Baki gasps and looks up.<br>"A-Ayama?" He asks in a weak voice.  
>"Shush!" I gush and focus on the attacker who is now getting back up. "I'm gonna protect you." He tries to sit up, but he appeared to be in too much pain and ended up just whimpering and cringing in pain.<br>"What's this? Reinforcements!" The attacker questions in a mocking manner. "How many are you?"  
>"I'm not obliged to answer!" I hiss.<br>"Tch, fine, this just means two kids to punish." He growls.  
>"Be.. careful.. rgh.." Baki croaks. I take it that he's strong. I glare at my opponent.<br>"Don't worry Baki. You shouldn't underestimate me." I say. My opponent chuckles and runs at me. His speed is incredible, but thanks to Ren, I've picked up a few techniques to hit fast moving opponents. I jump to the side, which my opponent wasn't expecting, and he had to stop himself before he fell over, that's when I whack him over the head with the bamboo. I love doing that.  
>"Tch, that hurt." He growls. I whack him again. "Ow! Knock it off!" He shouts then turns to attack me, but I was gone. "Huh?" He looks side to side then up. I was standing right behind him, and I whack him again. "Ow! That's it!" He turns around to swing at me but I jump away just in time. I signal to Baki to try and get out of here. He nods and starts giving it his all to crawl away.<br>"Wind style: Wind Scythe Jutsu!" I swing my bamboo stick, sending a powerful scythe of wind, it literally sliced him in half – of course that killed him. I then run to Baki who had fallen over and panting. I kneel beside him and put my hand on his back. "Was he the only one?" I ask. He gives a feeble nod.  
>"We.. were.. ambushed." He says. No wonder he's in such a bad condition. "Where are.. my teammates?"<br>"Don't worry, the rest of my squad are taking care of them." I say. He seems to get a more of a relaxed expression.  
>"Thank you.. Ayam...a..." He says then passes out.<br>"Baki!" I shout, but no response. He was still breathing – good thing. I gently roll him over onto his back and check for any wounds. Nothing too serious, well.. so I thought. The person I just killed was a rogue from Suna. Suna are popular for puppetry, wind style jutsu and poison. I notice one of his small cuts on his arm had a green drop of liquid dripping out of it. This is not good. I look around to see if anyone was around, but they weren't. I was gonna have to save him myself.. somehow. I lift his arm to my face and begin sucking the poison out – I was told about this technique in the academy.  
>I spit it out to the side, my tongue was burning and all I could taste was the iron-like taste of blood. I hope that got it all.. he does seem to be breathing slightly more easily now. Just for safety measures, I wrap a small bandage around his forearm, just above the cut and tighten it, so the poison can't spread if there was any still in there.<br>I then put his arm around my shoulders and start walking.

I found an old broken fence and sat against the pole and laid Baki beside me. '_Where are the others? Are they okay?_' Baki's breathing had calmed right down and now he just looks like he's peacefully sleeping.  
>"AYAMA! WHERE ARE YOU!" I heard Kiyoshi call. I stand up and look around for him. I then spotted him giving some girl a piggy back.<br>"OVER HERE!" I call, and wave my arms around. He saw me and rushed over to me.  
>"Are you alright?" He asks.<br>"Yeah. You?" I reply. He nods an 'okay'. The girl on his back looked like Baki's fellow squad member. Kiyoshi sat her up against the pole of the fence – where I was sitting.  
>"You're okay now." Kiyoshi says. The girl weakly opens her eyes and gives a feeble smile.<br>"Thank you.." She croaked. Then she saw Baki and became panicked. "Baki!"  
>"He's alright." I say. She grimaced at me.<br>"How do you know Baki-kun is alright!" She questions. Had I just hit a nerve unintentionally?  
>"Uh-"<br>"How would a little kid like you know!" She gushes. Kiyoshi was just as confused about her anger as me. But her to call me a little kid triggered my anger. Kiyoshi noticed my glaring and nudged my arm.  
>"Well excuse me for saving him." I huff and turn around and fold my arms.<br>".. Did.. you just snap at me?" She questions, turning her head to me. Kiyoshi bites his lip. I don't respond. "Hey! Answer me when I speak to you!"  
>"Ayama." Kiyoshi hisses, sensing trouble with her. I raise an eyebrow at him.<br>"What?" I ask. He nudges his head towards her. I shrug. "So? If she can't be grateful for my saving him, then so be it." Her eye twitched and she stood.  
>"Hey! I thought you said you had a sore leg!" Kiyoshi mentions. I turn to her.<br>"So you make him carry you for no good reason?" I question. Kiyoshi was feeling a little pissed himself.  
>"You! You're a real nuisance! I'll kill you!" She gushes and pulls out a kunai. I glare at her.<br>"Are you sure? Sasori wouldn't be very happy if you did." I say calmly. She cocked an eyebrow in uncertainty.  
>"Sasori? Psh, why would he be upset?" She inquires. I smirk.<br>"'Coz they're like best friends." Kiyoshi mentions. She just laughs.  
>"A little twerp like you is friends with Sasori! Hahaha, don't be ridiculous. Besides, he's in hospital at the moment isn't he? He's not that strong after all." She says and starts laughing, that's when I snap and punch her in the face, knocking her over. Kiyoshi jumped at the sudden movement.<br>"Bitch!" I shout. "Don't you dare say bad things about Sasori!" Kiyoshi stepped back in fright. The girl held her cheek where I punched her and gave a half-stunned expression towards me.  
>"You just crossed the line." She says and stands up. Kiyoshi held me back.<br>"Ayama! Cut it out!" He snaps.  
>"Shut up! He risked his life for me! She has no fucking right to just say crap about him!" I cry, my eyes beginning to water. She just gave an expression like she was in doubt and was about to laugh – it really pissed me off.<br>"Are you serious? Who do you think you are?" She asks, then gets in a fighting stance. I glare at her, and jerk around in Kiyoshi's grip to try and escape, but he was holding on too tightly. She went to throw a punch, and not being able to dodge it, I go to embrace it.  
>"Knock it off!" Baki shouts, and pushes her back. I was shocked, how the hell did he move so quickly – and I thought he was unconscious. The girl fell backwards and landed on her butt.<br>"B-Baki? Why?" She asks, really confused.  
>"You lay a hand on Ayama, and I will never forgive you." Baki snarls.<br>"O-okay, lets all calm down, okay?" Kiyoshi says. Baki took a deep breath.  
>"Stop causing trouble." Baki says to her. The bright blonde huffed and stood up and brushed the sand off her pants. "They saved us, at least be grateful."<br>"Whatever." She gushes and starts walking.  
>".. Where are you going?" Baki asks.<br>"None of your concern." She replies.  
>"Just let her kill herself then." I say. Baki sighs and the girl huffs again and jumps away.<br>"Nice one Ayama." Kiyoshi grumbles. Baki turns to me.  
>"Are you alright?" He asks.<br>"Perfectly fine." I reply. He nods.  
>"Sorry about her. She's always causing trouble.. bloody drama queen." He says. Kiyoshi finally lets me go and I rub my arm because his grip was pretty tight.<br>"Well it doesn't help when Ayama overreacts." Kiyoshi says. I shoot him a glare.  
>"Hey, who could blame her? Everyone gets frustrated around Mariki, especially when she's in one of those snobbish moods, like now." Baki explains.<br>"How the heck do you put up with her?" I ask.  
>"We ignore her." Baki says.<br>"Wouldn't that make her more angry?" Kiyoshi asks. Baki shrugs.  
>"Sometimes. But after being in a squad with her for a year, you kinda get used to it." He explains.<p>

The three of us sat around and talked about Baki's mission and how they were unexpectedly ambushed while on a mission to find a lost item.  
>"Ayama! Kiyoshi!" I heard Chitori-sensei calling. "Baki!" Kazuya calls. The three of us jump up and run over to them. "Oh thank goodness, you had us scared." Chitori says.<br>"Sorry, but we didn't know where you all were, and we didn't want to move around too much because of Baki's poisoning." I explain.  
>"Baki's been poisoned!" Kazuya questions. Baki raises his good arm to calm Kazuya down.<br>"It's alright, it's only a little bit. Ayama got most of it out." Baki says. Mariki glares at me. Kazuya sighs of relief.  
>"Well then, lets get back to the village." Chitori says. I notice Kazuya-sensei and Baki's other squad member are pretty badly hurt.<p>

"Yeah, it was only a little bit of poison." Baki explains. I nod.  
>"That's good." I say.<br>"But I have to stay in here overnight to make sure nothing happens unexpectedly." He grumbles.  
>"Hahaha! Have fun." I laugh. He laughs as well.<p>

On my way down the corridor of the hospital I decide to go visit Sasori. He was looking a lot better, sitting up and staring blankly out the window, lost in thought.  
>"Hey Sasori!" I say, entering. He jumps at the sudden voice, then smiles once he realizes it's me.<br>"Hello Ayama.. you look like you've just been fighting." He says. I nod and explain the mission to him. "Well, isn't that lucky you made it on time."  
>"Yeah, and that girl started arguing with me, and I ended up punching her, and when she tried to punch me back Baki stopped her." I explain.<br>"... Why did you punch her?"  
>"... She got me angry." I say. He laughs and shakes his head.<br>"Ayama, you know you're not supposed to let you emotions get ahead of you." He says.  
>"I know I know.."<br>"Well, don't get into anymore unnecessary fights, okay?" He says, and ruffles my hair.  
>"Okay."<p>

After that, my squad have only been getting simple boring missions like running errands or finding lost/stolen items. This lasted a year, it was then that I was getting really really fed up with them boring missions – just because we are Genin... Most afternoons, I would go to the infirmary and learn medical ninjutsu, and on weekends I'd train with Sasori. I will admit that I have gotten a lot stronger too.

One particular morning I got surprised by waking up to Baki hugging me. Usually he'd be stealing my blankets, pillow or even my socks, no, this time, he was hugging me. I flick his nose, but he didn't wake up. He had just come back from a tough mission, but still, hugging was overrated sometimes. I sigh and somehow manoeuvre my way out of his grip and get up. "Why don't we just swap beds?" I grumble.  
>"Waar..." He groans in his sleep.<br>"What?" I ask. "Did you just say war?" He rolls over and hugs my pillow. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"Bunnies!" He exclaims – still sleeping then hugs my pillow tighter.<br>"What the hell is wrong with you?" I ask. Once realizing he isn't going to wake up, I sigh and get dressed and go downstairs for breakfast.  
>"Oh, morning Ayama." His mom says.<br>"Morning." I reply.  
>"Oh, you look nice." She says, commenting on my new ninja attire (the blue sleeveless shirt, skirt and black pants and a fishnet shirt – go to the intro to see it).<br>"Thanks, I brought it yesterday." I say. "I'm getting my hair cut too."  
>"Oh really? How will you cut it?"<br>"I'm gonna get it shoulder length." I say.  
>"Oh I see, but it looks so lovely at waist length." She says. I shake my head.<br>"It's a pain. And it gets in the way a lot when I fight. So yeah." I explain.  
>"Well I guess that makes sense. Oh, is Baki up yet?" She asks.<br>"Nah, he's clinging onto my pillow.. again, and he's muttering something about war and bunnies." I explain. She blinks at me a few times before we both laugh.  
>"I've got to do something about that boy's movements when he sleeps." She says.<br>"His birthday is coming up soon right?" I ask.  
>"Yes, next week actually. He'll be 11." She says.<br>"I know how old he is." I laugh. "But what to get him.."  
>"Oh don't even remind me. He's so hard to buy for." She says.<br>"I know!" I say.  
>"I wonder if he'll be participating in the Chuunin Exams next year." She says.<br>"I will be!" I exclaim.  
>".. Are you sure? I thought Chitori said she was gonna train you all up until you're unbeatable first." She says.<br>"She said that?" I ask. She nods and I sigh. "Well I'll go on my own!"  
>"I'm afraid you have to be in a three-man cell to do that Ayama." She says. I sigh.<br>"Them two are holding me back." I say. "Baki's older than me by like one and a half years and I can beat him!"  
>"Can you now? When was the last time you fought him?"<br>"... I dunno. A while ago I guess." I say.  
>"Well he certainly has gotten stronger lately." She says. "Hungry?"<br>"Oh, yes please." I say.

After breakfast I head out to Sasori's house.  
>"Ayama! Nice to see you again!" Chiyo says and steps aside, allowing me inside. I nod.<br>"Nice to see you again too Chiyo-san." I say.  
>"Have you had breakfast dear?"<br>"Yes. Thank you." I reply.  
>"Sasori is still in bed, if you wanna go wake him up." She sniggers. I smile.<br>"Alright." I say and go into his bedroom. There are just as many puppets in there as the basement. He was laying on his stomach with his head half buried in his pillow and gripping his pillow slightly. Oh how to wake him up today. This wasn't the first time I've had to wake him up. Being 9 years old, I should be a little more mature, but where's the fun in that? Just because Sasori is now 14 doesn't mean he gets peace. '_To jump on him or get Suki out.._' As I walk closer to his bed I notice his mouth open slightly.  
>"Get up sleepyhead!" I say and jump on him. He just groans and opens his eyes tiredly.<br>"Hmm? Is that you Ayama?" He asks, not even bothering to move.  
>"Mmhmm. And you've slept in too long. Chiyo-san's getting annoyed." I say.<br>"Ahhh... I can't get one day to sleep in, can I?" He asks, and sits up and leans against the wall. I shake my head.  
>"Nope." I chuckle. He smirks and throws an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to him, but then puts me in a headlock and ruffles my hair. I heard him laugh. But as much as this would normally irritate me, I had to admit, it was fun playing around with Sasori. I break out of his headlock and playfully punch his arm. He laughs.<br>"I suppose I should get up then." He says and gets up and puts a shirt on and the two of us go out into the kitchen where Chiyo was preparing Sasori's breakfast.  
>"Hm? It's about time Sasori." She says with a slight nagging tone. He chuckles and scratches the back of his head.<br>"Sorry granny Chiyo." He says. One look at me and Chiyo laughs.  
>"Did you mess her hair up again?" Chiyo asks Sasori in a disappointed tone and puts her hands on her hips.<br>"Heh.. maybe." He says.  
>"... Yeah! He did!" I exclaim and point to him. Sasori smirks and Chiyo rolls her eyes.<br>"Come here dear, I'll fix it up for you." She says. I shake my head.  
>"I'm getting it cut today anyway." I say.<br>"What, all of it?" Sasori asks in a joking tone.  
>"Pretty much." I reply. He raises an eyebrow towards me. I point to my shoulder.<br>"Shoulder length." I say.  
>"Ah."<p>

Me and Sasori walk together down the barren streets and I was trying to fight the temptation to charge at the chickens. I lead him to the hair salon and I went in to get my hair cut. Sasori waited outside, looking around like he was cautious about something. I had one thing on my mind. Today is a Sasori and me day, the two of us hanging out for the entire day, which days like this are the ones I enjoy most.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Hair is gone, well, most of it, shoulder length now. I exit the hair salon to find Sasori still seeming alerted outside.  
>"Sasori, what's wrong?" I ask, unintentionally making him jump.<br>"Huh? Oh, nothing Ayama.." He says, breathing quickly. He took a deep breath to calm his breathing down. "That looks a lot better. It suits you Ayama." I blush a little.  
>"Thanks Sasori. So where are we going first?" I ask.<br>"Wherever you want to go." He says. I hate it when he does this, he makes me decide everything.  
>"It's your turn to pick!" I exclaim. He sighs and shakes his head.<br>"I dunno. That's why I said you decide." He says. I playfully punch his arm.  
>"But I dunno either." I say. He laughs.<br>"Alright alright, lets just walk around for a while then. Surely we'll find somewhere to go." He suggests. I nod.  
>So off we went. Walking, no destination in particular.<p>

"So, have you been on any interesting missions lately?" He asks randomly. I give him the 'what do you think?' look and he laughs. "Hurry up and become a Chuunin then."  
>"But Chitori-sensei said I can't go until we're older!" I complain.<br>"Or is she just saying that to cover up the fact that Kiyoshi and Ren are behind and need time to catch up to you?" He says. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"You know, you're right." I say.<br>"Of course." He snickers. I roll my eyes.  
>".. What are you worried about?" I ask. He looks at me.<br>"Worried? What do you mean Ayama?" He asks, his serious face coming out on display.  
>"I noticed you've been looking worried, is something coming after you or something?" I ask. He furrows his eyebrows as though he's clueless on what I'm talking about. "I know there's something. I can see it in your eyes."<br>"What.. are you talking about?" He asks. I squint my eyes as the wind started blowing more intensely and carried sand with it.  
>"You keep looking around like your expecting something to like.. jump out and get you or something." I say.<br>"Am I?" He asks. I nod. "Well, you know a true shinobi never lets their guard down. I guess you've never really noticed it, but after that attack last year I've been keeping my guard up, I don't want to get attacked again."  
>"You feel unsafe here?" I ask.<br>"Not exactly unsafe, more like.. just.. alert." He says. That made sense.  
>"Oh, alright then." I reply and continue walking. I didn't notice Sasori do a quiet sigh of relief behind me, before he started following me.<p>

We walked in silence for a while. The silence was absolutely killing me. I needed to say something, but what? It was then that Sasori cleared his throat.  
>"Is there anything you would like to do Ayama?" He asks. I could tell by his tone that he was bored, just like me.<br>"Yeah, but I don't know what." I say.  
>"Why don't we... have a duel?" He suggests. I smile.<br>"Yeah! Sure!" I reply. He smiles and starts walking faster.  
>"I'll race you there." He says then starts running. I blink a few times, registering what had just happened. Then I glare at him running down the street, running fast enough to be out of sight within 2 more seconds. I clap my hands together and smirk. He's not the only one that can pick up a few tricks. This next technique takes up a lot of chakra and is really meant for using with puppets, but why not do it to a person? It swaps the user's position with their puppet, and doesn't necessarily need chakra strings – but it does help. I do a couple of hand signs and mutter 'Sasori' and before I knew it, I was about to fall over from suddenly stopping from running, but manage to retain my balance and continue running. Sasori in the mean time was randomly standing where I just was.<br>"What.. the?" Sasori mutters, seeing the familiar view which he had just ran past. I giggle to myself as I run as fast as my legs could carry me while Sasori was still idling around trying to figure out what had just happened.

I got there before him of course, or so I thought. He blended in with the few giant rocks somehow, and he smirked at me as I arrived.  
>"How did.. you get here before me?" I ask.<br>"Well, you cheated somehow, and so I did too." He replies in a simple tone. I point at him with an irritated look.  
>"Teleportation isn't allowed! You said a race!" I exclaim. He just laughs.<br>"You used some kind of technique to swap places with me." He mentions. I shake my head.  
>"Yeah, but that was because you got a head-start! And besides, swapping places isn't the same as teleporting." I say.<br>"Oh alright alright. So how about we begin?" He asks, standing up on the giant rock he is sitting on. "Yes!" I reply. I get out the scroll and summon Suki and attach strings and blah blah blah within a few seconds. Sasori does the same, only this time, he didn't have his father or mother puppet, he had a whole new one. "What's that all about?" I ask, noting it's very realistic features.  
>"A new puppet. Do you like it?" He asks.<br>"You spent a lot of time on that one didn't you?" I ask.  
>"That's right. A lot." He says. "And this one will be enough to defeat you."<br>"Nah~! I've improved Suki way more since last time! I even got poison in her!" I exclaim.  
>"Poison? Are you sure that's wise?" He asks. "I did tell you that you should only put poison in your puppet once you become extremely advanced. It's very risky to work with." I stared at him with this -_- expression. "What?"<br>"I do remember you telling me that." I say.  
>"Oh, so you think you're very advanced do you?" He asks.<br>"I don't think I am, I know I am." I declare.  
>"Very well, show me what you've got. No holding back."<br>"Yes!" I manoeuvre Suki around and drop a few paper bombs as she's flying toward him. Sasori wasn't sure whether to keep an eye on the paper bombs or Suki, so he just used his puppet to tackle Suki to the ground and jump back.  
>"I said no holding back!" He says. I frown.<br>"I'm just getting started!" I call back.  
>"Good." I shoot many senbon from Suki's mouth at him, but he manages to jump around and avoid them all. I used that chance to have Suki attempt a direct attack, but that failed too. His puppet was coming directly at me, and there's no way I can get Suki back in time. I jump to the side to dodge it then make a half jutsu sign with one of my hands.<br>"Explode." I mutter. All the paper bombs exploded, throwing up a lot of black smoke and sand. I then go to perform a jutsu, but then I was tackled by Sasori's puppet. I kick it off though, I wondered how on earth he could see through all this smoke though, because I definitely can't.  
>"So you've taken down one of my puppets eh? Not bad." I hear Sasori say. I look at the puppet, I didn't realize it, but I actually kicked it into the ground and basically smashed it. I smile, I've won.. right?<br>"Wind Style: Tornado Jutsu!" I create a small blade-sharp tornado, and it absorbs the smoke, and once it came into contact with one of the giant rocks, it smashed.  
>"Impressive." I hear Sasori's voice behind me. I gasp a little then turn around and block before he manages to land a punch. I jump back a few feet. I had completely lost sight of Suki. "But now you're puppet-less, and now, I'll show you two other puppets." He says then pulls out another two scrolls and lays them down. Two puppets burst out from them and he smirks. Two against none? Not fair. I noticed they both look rather new, one has long shaggy brown hair, three eyes and six legs, and the other had horns and both had brown fabric around them.<br>"Not fair!" I huff.  
>"Meet Crow and Black Ant." He says. I could guess which was which. "Together they have a very ultimate move." He sniggers. I didn't like the sound of that. There was only one option left that I could think of. I grab my bamboo stick and swing it around in my hand.<br>"Bring it on!" I say. He smirks and sends them both at me at once. I whack them both several times as they both kept trying to get to me. I was moving so fast it wasn't funny.. Seriously, it wasn't funny, I was starting to feel dizzy. I hit both of them with enough force to send them backwards, then run at Sasori. He jerked his hands back towards him, obviously calling them back to him.  
>"I'll have to teach you to control several puppets at a time." He says as he avoids my first swing.<br>"Yes you will!" I reply with a bit of a laugh and swing again, this time, hitting his arm. He grunts and I heard one of his puppets hit the ground behind me. I whack the other – Crow, and go for Sasori again. This is probably the most intense battle of my life. Sasori thought he'd be funny and swing his leg while I was concentrating on Crow, and make me fall over. I glare up at him. "Just try it."  
>"Alright." He replies and goes to kick me, but no, thats when I used Substitution Jutsu. He sighs and looks around for me. I was above him and I went to tackle him, but his stamina was too great, I ended up just landing on him with my arms over his shoulders. He laughs. "Well this is new." I sigh. "I could beat you now. All I'ld have to do is get a kunai and stab your throat." I say.<br>"Yes, that's true." He says. "I'm surprised you actually managed to avoid Crow and Black Ant."  
>"Surprised? Nii-.. uh.. sensei, you underestimate me too much." I groan.<br>"... What were you about to say?" He asks, turning his head to the side to try and look at me.  
>"Nothing.." I reply.<br>".. Tell me." He says.  
>"Nothing!" I repeat, then go to jump down off his back but he grabs my legs and holds me there, giving me a piggy back.<br>"Come onnn." He says.  
>"It was nothing!" I exclaim. He starts walking.<br>"Alright. I suppose I should go get you something for beating me." He says.  
>"Wh-what? I didn't beat you." I say.<br>"Yeah, you did." He retorts.  
>"But what about the puppets?" I ask. Then I see another Sasori putting them into scrolls.<br>"My clone is dealing with that." He says. Then his clone came over and handed me my scroll containing Suki, and put Sasori's in his pockets then disappears.  
>"So what are you gonna get me?" I ask.<br>"You'll see." He says. I plop my head on his shoulder, he just loves making me wait for things.

He carries me through the streets where some people look at us weirdly, probably wondering why Sasori of all people was giving some random kid a piggy back, and also wondering why we both look slightly battered.  
>"Where're we going?" I ask, my head still on his shoulder.<br>"I'm taking you out for lunch, then we'll go back to my house." He says.  
>"So lunch is my reward?" I ask.<br>"No. I'm just hungry." He says. I roll my eyes.

So after our usual hamburger for lunch in that same old cafe, we go to his house. I don't really know why, but Chiyo-san always seems so happy when I'm around, and so does Sasori, but he always seems happy to me, so I don't really take much notice.  
>"So what's my reward?" I ask, we all sat in the loungeroom. Even Ebizo-san was here too. Chiyo fell asleep rather quickly and Ebizo watched us. Sasori pulls out two scrolls from his pocket and hands them to me.<br>"These." He says. I almost gasp.  
>"Crow AND Red Ant?" I question, staring utterly stunned at the two scrolls held out in his hand.<br>"Yes. You deserve them." He says. Rather than taking them, I leap up and give him a bear hug.  
>"That's right." Sasori laughs.<br>"But are you sure?" I ask.  
>"Ayama, I know great skills when I see it, so I believe you can take care of these two for me, right?" He says. I nod.<br>"Of course, but what about you?" I ask.  
>"Ayama, I make a new puppet everyday." He laughs.<br>"You should consider yourself quite fortunate Ayama-chan." Ebizo says. I face him with a 'huh?'. "Sasori worked long and hard on those two, but I guess he really does see potential in you. It's not everyday my grandnephew gives away his puppets." My eyes widen and I look back at Sasori, who started laughing,  
>"Ayama, don't look so shocked. As Ebizo said, I see great potential in you. You might even become the next puppet master one day." He says.<br>"The next? Who is the current?" I ask.  
>"Well.. me of course." He says. I frown at him.<br>"Chiyo-san's better than you." I mention.  
>"Yes but she's old." Sasori laughs. Ebizo looks at Chiyo.<br>"Did you hear that sis? You're getting old." Ebizo chuckles. ".. Uh... Sis?... Are you dead?"  
>"Gahaha! Got you again!" Chiyo laughs. We all sweat drop.<br>"Erm.. yes... that's nice.." Ebizo says.  
>"Hm? Oh Ayama. How nice to see you again!" Chiyo says. Me and Sasori sweatdrop more.<br>"Um.. yes." I reply.  
>"Well, who's hungry?" She asks.<br>"We just ate." Sasori says.  
>"Ebizo?"<br>"Yes, I would love some food." He replies. Chiyo nods and they both go into the kitchen.  
>"So, Ayama. Would you like me to teach you Crow and Red Ant's grand move?" Sasori asks. I nod.<br>"Of course!" I reply.

Thus, the rest of the day was spent doing that. I was allowed to stay at Sasori's tonight too, this would be my third time sleeping over. Sasori sets up a mattress in his room and gives me that really fluffy blanket – which mind you, is incredibly cozy and warm – and one of his pillows, because he has a lot of them. Sleeping? Forget it. We both sat up after Ebizo left and Chiyo-san went to bed, just talking. About puppets. Because that's basically all we talk about, unless I ever have a problem, he'll always sort it out for me.  
>It was probably about 1 in the morning before my drowsiness got the best of me. Sasori also fell asleep about the same time.<p>

Before I knew it, nearly another week passed by, and it was Baki's birthday. I still haven't gotten him a present, but I have no idea what to get him. Maybe I could give him a good day. Nah. I need to get him a present. I was awake thinking about this at 3am.  
>I sit up and look at him sleeping. I click my fingers. I know exactly what to get him. I smirk and get up and dressed and go out. And yes, it was bloody cold – well my ninja attire isn't the warmest clothing in the world, and the desert can get slightly cold during the time the sun is down.<p>

I go down to the shops – which weren't open and pout. I get out Crow and Blank Ant and practise with them for a while until the shop finally does open, which was about 6am. I go inside, buy a big fluffy pillow, and a really cozy maroon-colored blanket.  
>I take them back to Baki's house in a bag and put it at the end of my bed. Baki was just beginning to wake up so I quickly fold up my blanket neatly and put the pillow on top of it.<br>"Rrr.. what time is it?" Baki groans and rolls onto his side.  
>"About 6:30." I reply. He groans loudly and rolls onto his stomach and buries his head into his pillow. "... Happy Birthday." I say. He jumps off the bed and stands up like he had just been struck by a kunai in the head.<br>"It.. it's my birthday today!" He exclaim. I roll my eyes and laugh.  
>"Do I get a hug from the birthday boy?" I ask, opening my arms. Unexpectedly, he runs to me, wraps his arms around me and picks me up and swings me around once. .<br>"Of course you do Ayama-chan!" He says, letting me go.  
>"Uhhh.."<br>"... I'm sorry.." He says and looks down. "My excitement got the best of me."  
>"Riiiight, okay, you want your present from me, mister 11 year old?" I ask. He gives me a look as if to say 'what-kind-of-question-is-that?'. I laugh and pick up <strong>my<strong> blanket and pillow and hand them to him. He blinks a few times.  
>"What?" He asks, taking them reluctantly.<br>"Well considering you always wake up wrapped up in my blanket and trying to steal my pillow, I figure I should just give them to you. Happy birthday." I say, smiling. He laughs and nods – totally understanding. I then get the bag as he puts them on his bed. I take out the blanket and lay it across my bed, and put the pillow on top. He blinks a few times.  
>"What about them?" He asks.<br>"Well I can't not have a blanket and pillow to sleep with." I say in a 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. He blinks a few times.  
>"Right... I suppose..." He says. I grab his arm and start dragging him to the door. "So.. when did you get them?"<br>"Oh, about half an hour ago." I say.  
>"... I see.."<p>

I drag him downstairs and even his mom wasn't up yet. "I'll even cook breakfast."  
>"Yo- what!" He questions in a panicking tone. I smile and nod.<br>"I'll make it the best breakfast ever!" I exclaim. He bites his lip, I have no idea why.

…

One mini explosion and a fire scare later, I decided that maybe toast would just be fine rather than bacon and eggs. We sat at the table in silence, if Sasori heard about this I wouldn't know what to say.  
>"So... you wanted to cook breakfast.." Baki's mom says. I nod very slowly. Baki just laughs.<br>"I didn't know how to start the stove up." I confess.  
>"Well you could have just asked me, I could show you how to cook." She says.<br>"That would've been a whole lot better." Baki says. "But I've already had my first bit of entertainment for my birthday today." I roll my eyes.  
>"Happy birthday son." His dad says. Baki nods.<br>"Thank you."  
>"Yes, happy birthday dear." His mom says and gives him a peck on the forehead, ultimately embarrassing him.<p>

I just knew today was gonna be fun.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Yo~ Baki-kun!" Kiyoshi calls.  
>"What's up?"<br>"Happy birthday." He says. Baki nods.  
>"Thanks."<br>"So what'd you get?"  
>"Well.." Baki looks at me and I giggle. "so far I've gotten Ayama's bedding, almost had the house burned down, and yeah." I glare at him.<br>"It did not catch fire!" I earnestly exclaim. Baki chuckles.  
>"It was close to it." He says.<br>"Lemme guess, Ayama-chan tried to cook?" Ren asks. I slap him in the face. "Ow! Hey!" They just continued laughing.  
>"Well lets see you try and cook!" I growl. They all went quiet after that. "Exactly."<br>"... Yeah, but at least I know how to turn the stove on proper-" I cut Baki off with a slap in the face.. my hand was beginning to hurt, but of course, I was tough, I can't go showing any signs of pain. I didn't even wince. "Would you knock it off?"  
>"No! Stop teasing me!"<br>"But it's my birthday!" Baki says. I glare at him.  
>"..." Baki pouts.<br>"I'm sorry.. hug?" He asks, spreading his arms out. I raise my eyebrow.  
>"Heck no." I reply. He gives me a confused expression.<br>"Why not?" He asks. I slightly nudge my head towards Kiyoshi and Ren, without them noticing. "Oh.. Haha."  
>"Why would you hug <em>Ayama<em>?" Ren asks. I laugh. Baki screws his face up at them.  
>"'Coz we're friends. It's what friends do." Baki says. I sigh and bury my head in my hand.<br>"So you two hug when we're not around?" Kiyoshi asks in a cheesy tone. I turn around and slap him in the face. Now all three of them are going to have nice handprints on their cheeks. My hand went numb after that, but I ignored it.  
>"What is with you?" Ren asks, tilting his head to the side. "Slapping us all?" I look at him with a bored expression. "If anything you should be punching, you're not turning into a girl on us are you?" I glare.<br>"A punch it is then, baka!" I gush and punch him in the face where I slapped him – which would have bloody hurt – and sent him flying backwards. Kiyoshi's jaw dropped and Baki smirked.  
>"It'd be smart to not tease Ayama-chan." Baki says. "She has quite the strength."<br>"... So now you're complimenting me?" I ask, giving my bored expression to him. Baki's visible eye widened slightly and he started scratching the back of his head while laughing nervously. Can I just say that boys are merely impossible? The worst part is.. I'm becoming one of them by being around them so much. If it weren't for Baki's mom, Chiyo-san and Chitori-sensei, I'd be a boy with girl parts. I shiver at the thought. Becoming something so weird..  
>"What's up?" Kiyoshi asks. Ren now rejoins us from his little trip to the other end of the street.<br>"Oh nothing." I reply, shaking my head.  
>"That's what you said last time, then you ended up in hospi-"<br>"Yeah yeah yeah, this time it's really nothing." I interrupt. He gives me a curious look. I face Baki and give a fake happy smile. "So where are we going today birthday boy?" I ask.  
>"To see Kazekage-sama." Chitori-sensei says, randomly appearing. We all jump slightly, we seriously hate her when she does that.<br>"What for?" I ask – because I'm usually the one who could actually be bothered asking questions.  
>"For a mission of course. Baki, you too." She says.<br>"Me?" Baki mutters.  
>"That's right, come on you lot." Chitori-sensei says and jumps off, we follow.<br>"This probably going to be another bore." Ren grumbles.  
>"Well duh, because we're Genin." Kiyoshi complains.<br>"Knock it off, you sound like four year olds." I hiss.  
>"She's right." Chitori says.<p>

Once at the Kazekage's office, we notice the rest of Baki's squad are standing around. Mariki gasps at the sight of Baki. "Oh Baki-kun~! Happy birthday!" She says in a high pitched voice which almost could have passed for a squeal and she ran over to hug him but he stepped aside and walked up to his other teammates, not paying any attention to her, who fell over. I blink a few times. Maybe I am better off being more like a boy.. I scratch my cheek contemplating.  
>"Hey guys." Baki says. They nod. I walk with my squad up to Kazekage-sama's desk and wait to hear our mission – still contemplating.<br>"Well well, Kazuya-san, Chitori-san, I hope you're both aware that this is a joint mission." The Kazekage says. Us Genin from my squad, all our jaws dropped to the ground in sync. Baki didn't seem to mind, and the other guy in his squad seemed pretty mellow.  
>"Whaaaaaat?" Mariki questions, pushing past me with that long bright blonde hair of hers waving about. She slams her hands on his desk. "I can't do that! Not with those three!"<br>"... And why is that?" He asks.  
>"Because they're irresponsible! I don't like them!" She complains. The three of us glare at her.<br>"Can we like.. replace her?" Kiyoshi asks. Mariki's eye twitches and she turns around to throw a punch at him, but I step forth with my speed and grab her fist, stopping it just in time – making everyone gasp.  
>"Do not hurt my comrades." I say in a stern voice and a serious face.<br>"L-let me go!" She demands, jerking her arm back to try and break my grip. Is she for real? I raise an eyebrow. What kind of 11 year old kunoichi can't get out of the grip of a 9 year old? She seems to be really struggling. Baki and his teammates all sweat drop. "Darn it! Lemme go!" I let go and she nearly fell over backwards. Kazuya-sensei sighs and buries his head in his hand. The Kazekage folded his arms waiting for her to behave.  
>"When you're quite finished." He grumbles. Mariki turns around and frowns. "If you continue to misbehave I will guarantee you will go back to the academy for a few years to relearn about cooperation." Mariki's eyes widen and jaw drops. "Now, this mission requires the eight of you to fully cooperate and work as a team. This will be your first C-rank mission." We all gasp.<br>"Really!" Kiyoshi says excitedly.  
>"Yes, you are to infiltrate Kirigakure and destroy a storage building which they use to store their emergency supplies." He explains.<br>"Huh? Why?" Ren asks, taking the words right out of my mouth.  
>"..." The Kazekage stands up and walks over to the window and looks outside. "We may be coming into war with them."<br>"W-war?" I stutter accidentally.  
>"Well not straight away, but it just might come." He says.<br>"... Why?" I ask.  
>"Kirigakure is a place not to be trusted. Neither is Iwagakure, in fact, Konoha is probably the only other village we can half trust." He explains.<br>"..." I look at Baki. I remember him groaning about war in his sleep.  
>"However. This is quite a difficult mission, so I advise you lot to be careful, going into enemy territory." He says.<br>"But why send us Genin on such a mission?" Asks Baki's other teammate.  
>"Well, you see, their storage building isn't actually <em>in<em> Kiri, it's around the border line of the Land of Water. Thus, it should not be too hard. But in case of dire situations, there is a reason I am sending two squads. So the mission, seek and destroy." He explains. We all bow (except for Mariki who just went 'hmph') and in sync reply with;  
>"Yes Kazekage-sama." Then we turn around and leave for our mission after Chitori-sensei grabs the mission scroll containing all details.<p>

At the arch, was when Mariki started her shit again. "I don't want to have to team up with them lot!"  
>"Too bad." Kazuya-sensei replies.<br>"But I don-"  
>"Shut up." Baki hisses. She went quiet. It would seem she listens to Baki, and I don't think I've ever heard her talk back to him. Am I missing something? I raise an eyebrow.<br>"Hmph."  
>"Lets just get this mission over with." Ren grumbles. I grab his arm and he looks at me. "What?"<br>"Don't even think about running ahead like you always do." I say. He glares at me.

Thus, several days of bickering later, we finally find ourselves on the outskirts of the Land of Water. We had to tread very quietly and stealthily. Rain and boggy ground was definitely not easy to walk on. Even half the trees were moping about, me, Kiyoshi and Baki did the smart thing and walk on these trees so we don't get bogged, because the mud is pretty wet and deep. I found it funny that Mariki had to walk through it though, she had no balance for tree climbing whatsoever. But of course, Ren was thoroughly enjoying getting dirty – as boys do. I was still contemplating. I look at Kiyoshi who was looking at me. That kind of brief eye contact is what I call slightly awkward. We had to keep out mouths shut in order to not attract any enemies that might be nearby, thus the only sounds that could be heard were the rain pelting the ground – yes it was coming down hard, absolutely drenching us – and the soft footsteps in the mud and the small thuds of our shinobi sandals hitting the tree trunks. We have already thought of a plan, but I don't like it very much. Me and Baki's other teammate have to stay behind and out of sight because we can both do medical ninjutsu, though his is way better than mine. But why me? I'm like the strongest person here! I'm serious, you there, reading this, I am dead serious, I am the strongest here, so stop laughing dammit! …. I can still hear you *glares*  
>"There it is." Chitori-sensei whispers, spreading her arm out – telling us to stop. Kiyoshi lost his footing and nearly fell off the tree, oh if only I wasn't there to grab his arm and save him. We'd be noticed straight away from the splash in the mud. I pull him back up to his feet and he nods a 'thank you'. There aren't any tall trees to hide in, only some willow trees which aren't very good for hiding in. So as we all hid in them and look, we notice a large body of water (like really large) then on the other side, an old-looking wooden shed-like thing. It wasn't very big, nor was it really in perfect condition, it had one or two wooden panels missing and a few cracks and holes here and there. And we have to destroy that? Psh, easy.<br>Chitori-sensei signals for us to stay put, then goes to investigate, most likely looking for any Kiri ninjas. She carefully emitted chakra to her feet and swiftly ran on the large body of water very quietly. We all watch carefully, and I also notice Kazuya-sensei getting a little worked up about this, was he stressed?  
>Then suddenly, the unexpected. Countless Kiri ninja jump up from the water and grab Chitori and knock her down. She fights back as much as she could. I was about to jump out and assist, but Baki's teammate grabbed my arm and stopped me. Kazuya-sensei jumps down unnoticed. I notice him generate some electricity in his hand. Was he seriously going to electrify them all? '<em>What about Chitori-sensei!<em>' I notice Chitori jump up the second Kazuya puts the electricity to the water, it electrified all of them, none could escape. The way this was all set up, were they expecting us?

After a few minutes of being electrified to death, they all fall unconsciously back into the sparking water. Chitori rejoins us, panting heavily.  
>"Chitori-sensei? Are you alright?" I ask. She nods.<br>"They're brutal. Lets get this mission over with." She says.  
>"Takashi." Says Baki's teammate.<br>"Huh?" I respond and look at him.  
>"My name's Takashi." He says.<br>"Oh right. I'm Ayama." I say. He nods.  
>"Baki talks about you a lot." He says. I blink a few times. "That's why Mariki hates you so much."<br>"Jealousy?" I ask.  
>"Mm." He replies with a nod. I roll my eyes.<br>"Baki, Kiyoshi, Ren, go." Kazuya-sensei orders. The three of them nod in perfect sync then disappear, reappearing beside the building.  
>"It's heavily protected!" Kiyoshi calls.<br>"Tch.. I feared this.." Kazuya mutters then goes to join them.  
>"Hey Takashi, I'll be on look out, 'kay?" I ask.<br>"Yep." He replies. So I jump to the top of the tree and look around. I saw two reinforcements running toward the building, so I get Crow and Black Ant out, and perform their ultimate technique, the Secret Black Move: Iron Maiden, killing them both. I'm sure this proves I am getting better with them.  
>"Gotcha." I hear behind me, then feel a sharp pain in my back, I couldn't help but yelp. The person whacked his arm into my face, knocking me off the tree, and I landed in the mud, cringing in pain. Takashi gasps, then opens the small little gourd thing tied to his sash and reaches into it. I reach to my back and pull the kunai out – now that hurts. Once I look up I saw three Kiri's jumping down at me.<br>"Glass Style: Razor Shards Jutsu!" I hear Takashi say, then thousands of small shards hit them all, blood spilling everywhere. I sit up and Takashi jumps down to my side. "Are you alright?"  
>"Y-yeah, for now." I say. Takashi puts my arm around his shoulders and takes me to the tree where Chitori-sensei is still sitting. He lifts my shirt up and starts using the medical ninjutsu on my wound. "Was that.. glass style jutsu?" I ask.<br>"Yeah.. I'm from the Garasumura clan. My full name is Garasumura Takashi." He says.  
>"Oh really? Then you must know someone called um.. Kujirako." I say.<br>"Huh? Oh... _him_.." He says with disgust in his tone.  
>"What? Is he a bad person?" I ask.<br>"Well, no. I just.. don't really like him." He says.  
>"Why?" I ask, not realizing I may have just asked a very personal question.<br>"He's like the Garasumura prodigy." Takashi says. "He's basically one of the best in our clan."  
>"Oh really?"<br>"Yeah, but he tends to loose his temper easily, he ended up unleashing everything on me once... these two scars across my face aren't there for nothing." He says, pointing out two long scars that start just above his mouth and go around his right cheek to his ear.  
>"K-Kujirako did that?" I question. He nods.<br>"It took four people to stop him." He says. I felt like my jaw had just dropped off. A silent shout escaped my lips as I said 'four?'. "But don't worry about it. That was years ago. He's getting slightly better now."  
>"I see.." I look around for any other enemies.<br>"Geez, they sure did get you good." He says. I roll my eyes.  
>"Thanks.." I grumble, he's possibly mocking me for getting hit.<p>

*Boom*

We all turn to the building – it was now burning, well, what remained of the explosion. The fire wasn't going to last long with this rain, and neither will the smoke, which is a good thing because otherwise a high trail of smoke would attract attention. Chitori-sensei signals for us to get the hell out of there. I felt Takashi's breath on my ear.  
>"Will you be alright?" He asks softly. I blink a few times, this was kind of awkward.<br>"Uh, yeah." I reply, then go to stand up, then a sharp pain shot right through me from the wound and I cringed in pain.  
>"A-are you sure?" Takashi panics. I would've put my hand on the wound – because that's just automatic – if I could reach it. Takashi turns around abruptly to block an enemy, he sure was fast, or was it just my head going slow? I stepped forward -no idea why- then I accidentally slipped on some moss and fell, I don't remember the tree being this high.. Suddenly I was millimetres above the ground... my brain finally told me that my body had stopped falling.<br>"Ayama! Are you alright!" I painfully look up and see Baki. He had caught me.  
>"I-I'm fine." I lie then go to sit up. I wince a little and get to my feet. His eyes watch me cautiously. "What?" I ask.<br>"You don't look fine." He says.  
>"I am, just trust me." I say, then start looking around for Crow and Black Ant. More and more Kirigakure ninjas were turning up from no where. I clap m hands together. I heard Baki mutter my name under his breath, but don't pay much attention to it. I use the Body Replacement jutsu to switch places with Crow. Crow would have turned up beside Baki and he would hopefully pick it up. I kneel down to Blank Ant, because they had fallen beside each other, then put it back inside it's scroll. Then I realize it was probably a stupid idea to go off alone. I could hear them all around me. Crap. Smoke bombs wont work in weather like this.<br>"Ayama watch out!" Baki calls then jumps down and hits the guy that jumped at me. I stand up and growl.  
>"DIE FOOLS!" Me and Baki both gasp.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Ayama!" Baki exclaims, catching sight of our attacker before me, Baki tackles me to the ground, and takes the hit. My eyes widen and I gasp as I hear him grunt in pain. I gently elbow him chest, telling him to get off, but he was damn stubborn. I heard his weak breaths in my ear, it pained me to hear it. I crawl out form under him somehow, then stand up and look around for the attacker, but there are so many Kirigakure ninjas closing in on everyone now, this shouldn't be a C-rank, it should be bloody A-rank. I bite my lip and draw my bamboo stick and swing it around. I look around for any enemies, but they're hiding themselves well. I glimpse down at Baki then gasp. I couldn't believe it. A cut starting from his forehead, going down through his left eye, and ending somewhere before his armpit was bleeding severely. The cloth covering his face was completely gone. I'm in a really sticky situation here. I either fight and allow Baki to bleed to death, or I try and heal Baki and put myself at high risk. Then I remember what I was taught at the academy.

"_You must seek the mission through, at any cost. The shinobi world is rough, and so your comrades may die during the mission, but that is life. The mission has higher priority over everything else."_

So I'm supposed to leave Baki and get out of here. I nod. Right, that's simple enough. Bullshit. Baki's my closest friend aside from Sasori. I will stand my ground even if it kills me. I can't be afraid anymore. I kneel down to Baki boldly and turn him over onto his back. Yes the cut went right through his left eye, but I should be able to do something. I get my hands glowing green and put them over the left side of his face. I wince as I felt something stab my back, it was so small it felt like a senbon, but I have to endure, for Baki.  
>"A...yama... get out... of here." Baki whimpers. I shake my head.<br>"No." I reply. I could feel that his eye seemed fine, nothing wrong with it, only his eyelids were cut. Which is a good thing, because if Baki lost an eye for me, I'd regret it. I heard footsteps running toward us. I bite my lip. This is going to be a frontal attack. I immediately stand up, disregarding the sharp pain in my back, and swing my bamboo stick at the person, hitting them and sending them flying backwards. Once seeing him it a nearby tree, I draw out a kunai and throw it at him, getting a perfect shot in the neck. I could hear more and more coming. This is not good.

Meanwhile.

"Come on, move faster." Chitori calls.  
>"Wait!" Ren says. The six of them stop.<br>"What is it!" Kazuya questions. Ren looks around at them all.  
>"We don't have time to waste, if they catch up to us then it'll be a rough fight." Chitori says.<br>"Yeah, I know but.. I feel like we're missing someone." Ren says. All their eyes widen and they look at each other.  
>"Ayama and Baki-kun!" Kiyoshi exclaims, realizing we're missing.<br>"Shit.. you lot keep going." Chitori says.  
>"But what about-" Kazuya was cut off.<br>"I will not lose my student. And I swear I'll save your student too Kazuya-san." Chitori says. "Now lead them all out of here."  
>"But.. Chitori-chan.."<br>"GO!" Chitori orders. Kazuya sighs then nods.  
>"Come on." He says, then everyone continues following him.<br>"Please be safe you two." Chitori mutters.

I was ready to drop, I cannot put up a good fight. My vision is becoming blurry, my chakra is almost gone. My arms and legs feel numb. Baki muttered my name under his breath. I shake my head. I can't give up... I grab my bamboo stick, next one to attack is gonna get it.  
>"You're all gonna die!" I hear. I bite my lip and turn to where the voice came from, ready to attack. But what got to me is that nothing came at me, then the enemies started flying around. Was I being saved?<p>

I don't remember much after that, I think I may have passed out. Yeah, I passed out.

I spent several weeks in hospital, recovering from the wounds in my back. Baki has a nice scar down his face, but eventually it will disappear.. well, at least, that's what the doctors said. Sasori was also worried when he found out I had been hospitalized for a 'life threatening' injury. Honestly, I didn't believe them when they told me I could have died, because it just didn't seem realistic. They claim that I lost a hell of a lot of blood, but I just doubt it.

Finally when the day came for my release from the hospital, I was greeted first by Baki who was also on his way out. The two of us walk down the corridor with our luggage talking about the mission. He told me that I was foolish for saving him.. but things got quite emotional..  
>"You.. really had be worried you know.." Baki spoke, his voice beginning to sound weak, like he was going to cry. I look at him with worry.<br>"Baki-kun, you're my best friend, there's no way I would have left you there... you would've done the same for me wouldn't you?" I reply. He sighs and nods.  
>"I guess you're right.. but.. you.. you risked your life. I heard that you were close to dying."<br>"Baki-kun, just let it go. It's all in the past now, the point is that we're both okay." I say. He nods.  
>"Yeah, you're right."<p>

Out on the streets we both wondered why no one approached us as usual. Like as in, a few old classmates, other Genin, even Mariki and Takashi didn't approach us. We both found it odd and just kept walking to Baki's house. Here I thought Takashi was a nice person too.  
>Once we got about a street away we were finally approached my someone.<br>"Oi, Ayama. Nice to see you again." It was Sasori. I turn around and smile up at him – coz he's pretty tall.  
>"Ya, you too." I reply. He tilts his head to the side and smiles.<br>"So I heard you went on a B-rank mission eh? How did that go?"  
>"B-rank? Kazekage-sama said it was C-rank." I say, confused.<br>"I heard that he didn't know we'd be ambushed, and from the danger of the mission Kazekage-sama said the mission would've been a B-rank mission." Baki explains.  
>"Ohh. So we actually completed a B-rank mission! That's awesome!" I exclaim. Sasori nods.<br>"I got a little worried when I heard you returned with life threatening wounds. How are you feeling?" Sasori asks.  
>"I'm perfectly fine." I say. Sasori puts a hand on my shoulder and we all continue walking.<br>"That's good to hear then." He says.

The following day me and Baki went out together, because no one else came to talk to us, and we went to that cafe and had a hamburger each. "So what do you suppose their problem is?" Baki asks. I shrug.  
>"I really have no idea. No one came to visit me in the hospital except your parents. I think Chitori-sensei came to visit once too, but I think I was still unconscious when she did." I explain. Baki nods.<br>"Yeah, that's basically the same with me.. except I don't think Kazuya-sensei came to visit me at all. Though, I reckon Mariki came to visit when I was out." He chuckles. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"So she really has something for you eh?" I say.<br>"Heh, of course she does. I mean, look at me." He says and smirks. I blink.  
>"Um.. no." I say. He frowns.<br>"Way to ruin the fun." He says.  
>"No I mean, I don't really see you in that sorta way. You're my best friend. It'd be weird." I say. He shrugs. "So you're getting kinda popular with the girls eh?" I grin. His face blushes.<br>"Uhhh, w-well, i-it's not like I _want_ a girlfriend or anything." He says, then picks up his glass to take a drink and get rid of that blush. I laugh. Little did either of us realize, Sasori was outside, watching us through the window. He must be thinking that the two of us are.. because Baki's blushing and I'm laughing.. he didn't have a very happy expression.

"Well, I'm full, what about you?" I ask.  
>"Yeah, lets go do something now." Baki says. So the two of us pay and leave in search of something to do.<p>

"So she like risked her life to save him even though he would've died anyway?" I heard someone whisper. I squint my eyes and stop. Baki gave me a curious look and stopped too. There were a group of Genin sitting outside a shop chatting.  
>"Yeah, that's what I heard."<br>"She's pretty foolish. She should've just kept going and sought the mission through."  
>"Yeah, but why would she do such a thing?" I'd had enough listening to them. Baki folded his arms, seeming annoyed with them too. We both approach them.<br>"Because he's my closest friend." I say. They all jump and look at us.  
>"I would've done the same to her." Baki says.<br>"But why! You know the mission is more imp-"  
>"We completed the task at hand, it was just getting back that's the problem!" I exclaim.<br>"You.. completed the mission?" One of them asks.  
>"Yes! So stop bagging us out." I gush.<br>"Everyone thinks you're foolish, because you should have just gotten out of there." They say. I sigh. Both me and Baki realized why no one was coming near us, because what I did is considered foolish in my village. But I don't care, as long as Baki's alive, I really don't care.  
>"Well sorry for protecting my best friend." I huff. "I'm sure you'd do the same thing for your friends, right?" They all look between each other with uncertainty.<br>"I dunno, it's a big deal to get the mission complete.." One of them says. I glare at him.  
>"The mission was completed. So technically it didn't matter." I say.<br>"I guess she's right." Another says. Baki sighs and grabs my arm. I look at him and he started tugging my arm, so I walk away with him.

"What was with those guys? You're anything but a fool Ayama." Baki says. I smile at him, he truly is a good friend.  
>"Thank you." I say.<br>"No I mean it-"  
>"Yeah, and I really do mean it. Thank you, for saving me." I say. His slightly shocked expression turns into a smile. I smile back and my my arms around his shoulders and pull him beside me, thought I must admit, he's gotten a little taller. He puts his arm around my shoulders and the two of us walk around like the two best friends we are.<p>

We eventually got everyone to talk to us again, apparently they were ashamed to speak to us but once they realized the truth they believed us. So things carried on as normal, we once again got stuck with the small boring missions for several months, and before we knew it, another year had passed by.

On this one particular morning, do you think I could settle Baki down? No, I couldn't. "B-Baki! Sit for one second! Please!" I plead.  
>"No no no! I gotta pack! Rrgh, I feel like I'm missing something.." He says then pauses for a second to think. I blink a few times watching him, then he grabs his fully backed sack from his bed and lay out it's contents on his bed, spreading everything out.. for the sixth time. I sigh and slap my forehead.<br>"Baki, I'm pretty sure you're well packed." I say, walking up beside him.  
>"But I really think something is missing.." He says, staring at everything. I look over it all too. Food, spare clothes, ninja tools, a book and a drink bottle.<br>"I don't think you're missing anything." I say. He scratches his head.  
>"No but I'm sure there's one.. one thing.." He says, glaring at the items. I scratch my head too and glare at them. There was a very long moment of silence which would have kept on going forever, but Baki's mom slid the door open, ruining it.<br>"Are you ready ye-"  
>"SHHHH." Baki hushes, glaring at the items more. His mom blinks a few times and I walk over to her.<br>"He thinks he's missing something." I whisper.  
>"Oh.. well then he'll need his mother to figure this out." She says and walks in. This wasn't gonna be pretty. Baki's beginning to get stressed, and with his mom in the room..lets just say it's not a very good combination. I slowly back out of his room and run downstairs.<br>"Hm? Isn't that boy packed yet?" His dad questions. I shake my head.  
>"No, he thinks he's missing something." I say. He sighs and buries his head in his hand.<br>"Well, he'd better hurry up, they'll leave without him." He says. I pout.  
>"It's not fair, I wanna go too." I grumble.<br>"Well, I'm afraid I can't do much about that. It's your sensei's orders." He says. I sigh.  
>"I know I know." I say. Then another silent moment hit. "... ARE YOU DONE YET!"<br>"YES!" Baki calls back, trembling down the stairs and landing on his feet.  
>"What were you missing?" I ask, walking beside him as he speed walks to the front door.<br>"Nothing." He says. I frown.  
>"So you spent all that time- ugh, never mind." I grumble.<br>"Bye mom! Bye dad!" Baki calls then opens the door.  
>"Have a safe journey Baki!" His mom calls, his dad called something out but the two of us were gone by then. Oh yes, you might be wondering where Baki is going. No, it's not a mission. No, the lucky bastard is travelling to Konoha with a group of us Suna Genin for the Chuunin Exams. I was being dragged along to send him off. Ren and Kiyoshi are there too. We find them hanging around Baki's squad who seemed to be looking very impatient.<br>"BAKI!" Kazuya-sensei gushes.  
>"Sorry sorry!" Baki cries.<br>"We were gonna leave without you." Takashi says.  
>"Hmph." Mariki snorts toward me. "It must have been <em>her<em> fault." I glare at her. She gets worse and worse with time.  
>"Shut it." Takashi huffs. Mariki glares at him.<br>"Now now, stop bickering and come on, they'll all leave without us." Kazuya-sensei says.  
>"Good luck Baki-kun!" I say. "You too Takashi-kun!"<br>"Yeah! Good luck!" Ren and Kiyoshi call.  
>"Thank you! I'll come back a Chuunin, I promise!" Baki calls and waves. I wave back as the group of Genin and their senseis walk through the arch. Lucky bastard.<p> 


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

I'll admit I felt bored. Sasori was out on another mission, Ren and Kiyoshi were out on a mission with their parents, and here I was, laying on my stomach on the roof of Baki's house, staring out into the distance. I wonder how Baki's doing. Then again it's only been two hours since he left for the Chuunin Exams, they probably wouldn't even be out of the desert yet. How come I don't get any missions? Oh wait. I could go bug Chitori-sensei. I smile and jump up to my feet and jump away in search of her.

Apparently she was out on a mission too, according to Kazekage-sama. I sigh after leaving his office. I figured I should just go training, so I did.

That was the rest of my day. Upon going home – to Baki's house – I have dinner with his parents then go to bed. It was so odd to wake up during the night without having Baki trying to steal my pillow or blanket or even snoring. Since giving him my bedding he's been staying in his own bed a lot more often. I tossed and turned a lot during the night.

When morning came I was woken up early by people panicking outside. I jump up and look out the window, the sun was just beginning to rise, and the streets were crowded, which is very unusual. I quickly get dressed into my ninja attire then run downstairs. Baki's parents were scurrying around getting set up like they are going on an important mission or something.  
>"What's going on?" I ask. Baki's mom stops and faces me.<br>"It's horrible, Kazekage-sama has gone missing! We don't know if he's still in the village or not. We have to search for him!" She exclaims in a very high panicked tone. My eyes widen.  
>"What?" I question. They grab their Jonin jackets and rush out. I turn around to run back upstairs to get my weapons when I run directly into someone. A hand was places over my mouth.<br>"Ayama, come with me." He says. I couldn't see his face from the darkness, but I think it was Sasori. I whack his hand away from my mouth.  
>"What?" I ask.<br>"Ayama, come with me, we'll become unstoppable." He says. I shook my head.  
>"W-what do you mean?" I ask, feeling a little frightened. He grabs my arm.<br>"I'm leaving the village Ayama. I've made up my mind, I am going to hunt down Hatake Sakumo and kill him. Then I'll become even stronger. Though it would be better if I had someone to come along with me." He says. I was at a loss for words.  
>"You're leaving the village?" I question. He doesn't like repeating himself, I know that better than anyone<br>"Will you come with me or not?" He asks. I shake my head in fear.  
>"No! I will not leave the village!" I gush. I didn't realize my body was shaking. I was beginning to feel weak at the knees, and tears fell from my eyes. "Why would you do such a thing!" my voice was beginning to sound like a whimper. He took a step back.<br>"Fine." He says. I felt a hard thing hit my head and I blacked out.

I woke up several hours later, in the same position I fell in. It took me a few seconds to remember what happened and I jump to my feet and run out the door.  
>"THE KAZEKAGE HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!" I hear. I gasp. Jonin scattered from the village in search of him. I wanted to join them, but I wasn't allowed.<br>"IT MUST BE THOSE KIRIGAKURE NINJAS!"  
>"THIS MEANS WAR!"<br>I bite my lip and shake my head in horror. We can't go into war with our Kazekage! Are they mad?  
>"Everyone! We must remain calm." Announces one of the Sand's higher-ups. "We cannot be certain that this is war, but to be on the safe side, we must set up high defences around the village in case."<br>"We really gotta think about getting a new Kazekage in the meantime." Says a random.  
>"Yeah! Then we'll have some guidance through this war!"<br>I look down. Are they serious? A new Kazekage? Have they even put any effort into finding our current Kazekage?  
>"If that be the case, I would like to nominate myself as Kazekage." Says a guy standing beside the village elder. He has brown messy hair and dark-colored eyes.<br>"A-are you sure about that?" Asks the girl beside him.  
>"Yes, Karura. I'm sure." He replies.<br>"Hm, we'll have to have a meeting on this. In the meantime, keep up the village's defence." Says the village elder.

I spent the rest of the day walking around the village with my head hanging low. I couldn't stop thinking about Sasori's words. I then realize something and look up with wide eyes. '_Why didn't I think of this before?_' I turn around and run directly to Sasori's house. I knock repeatedly on the door until Chiyo-san answers. She seemed to have red eyes from crying a lot. I become even more sad. Chiyo takes a few deep breaths to calm down.  
>"A-Ayama-chan.. sorry but Sasori isn't home." She says, sniffling. My eyes get watery again.<br>"I know." I sob. She must've realized I knew he's gone and she put her hand on my shoulder and welcomed me inside. She sat me on the couch and sat beside me, rubbing my back. "I know he's not coming back." I sob.  
>"Did he.. visit you before he left?" She asks in an uneven tone.<br>".. Yeah.. he asked me to go with him." I say. She gasps.  
>"He did what?" She inquires.<br>"I refused! I didn't want to leave the village!" I cry and throw my arms around her and bury my face in her shirt crying. "I was scared!"  
>"Dear child.." She says and strokes my hair. "I'm glad you didn't go with him. It would have been too dangerous for you."<br>"The way he talked about killing that Hatake, it kinda scared me, because he's never spoken like that before." I sob.  
>"I know child. I know." She says and starts rocking back and forth, stroking my hair, trying to calm me down.<p>

I spent the night with Chiyo-san, trying to calm each other down. In the morning all Suna ninjas were called out to a meeting. All other missions had been cancelled and everyone was called back during the night. I met up with Ren and Kiyoshi and we, along with all the other Genin who weren't currently at Konoha for the Chuunin Exams, were sent to one room with all the Chuunins, and all Jonins and ANBU were sent to another.  
>It wasn't too long before a Jonin accompanied by a few ANBU walk in. He steps up the front and clears his throat, capturing everyone's attention.<br>"Everyone. As you are all aware, our Kazekage, has gone missing, there are no traces, nor any signs of his whereabouts. And with our current state, possibly going into war, we will need a temporary Kazekage until ours returns or is found." He explains. A few complaints were heard, but I didn't listen to them. "Silence! Now our current Kazekage will now be-"  
>"Me." Says a man, stepping inside. I recognize him from yesterday. That woman he was with yesterday was also by his side. I think that man said her name is Karura. All eyes landed on him. "I will lead our village through these dire times. I will make sure we see it through to the end." He declares. Me, Ren and Kiyoshi weren't all that impressed, but I did hear a few cheers and such.<br>"How do we know there is a war?" Kiyoshi questions unexpectedly. Me and Ren stare at Kiyoshi, then look at the guy, who was giving him a reassuring expression.  
>"We don't. However, what I am saying, is that if we do end up in a war, I will make sure we prevail." He responds. I really don't know about this guy. I just.. don't know.<p>

After that, we were all send on supply gathering missions, however, those missions were usually given to Jonin. Us Genin and Chuunin were stuck preparing weapons and such.  
>"Hey, did ya hear? Sasori abandoned the village!" Someone says. I squint my eyes and just continue focusing on sharpening this one particular kunai.<br>"Really? No way!" Replies someone else. Ren, beside me, looks up and listens intently.  
>"Yeah, I heard he got scared of the war and fled." Says the first person. My grip on the kunai tightened. By now, Kiyoshi got back from his trip to the loo, and starts listening.<br>"Really? Sasori of all people got scared?" Someone else questions.  
>"Yeah! It's almost unbelievable."<br>I slam the kunai down on the table, making both Ren and Kiyoshi jump, then I stand up to leave, I could feel everyone's curious eyes on me as I left.

Two minutes later Ren came and found me curled up beside a building. He put a hand on my shoulder, making me jump because I didn't hear him coming.  
>"Ayama..."<br>"Ren I can't take it. I just don't wanna hear bad things about him." I say. He sits down and rubs my arm.  
>"Yeah, I really don't think he's the sort that would run away from anything." He says.<br>"He isn't." I say. Ren looks at me with concern. "He.. only left to avenge his family.."  
>".. Did he tell you that?"<br>"Yeah.." I reply in a low voice. Ren put his arms around me and pulled me into a hug.  
>"Let it out Ayama, don't bottle it up." He says. I bite my lip before uncontrollably crying on his shoulder, he held me tight. Kiyoshi came out and his eyes softened. He walks over to us and crouches down.<br>"What's up?" He asks. Ren looks at him.  
>"Sasori." He says.<br>"Oh." Kiyoshi responds. He looks at me then looks down. "I see.." He puts his arms around the both of us, and rests his head on mine. "It'll be alright.. Ayama." My arm finds him and I put it around him too. I truly have the best friends in the world, I'm so glad I have someone I can turn to.

Two weeks of hard work passed, Kazekage-sama was never found, thus, this new one was made permanent. Everyone began to calm down a bit too. Even me.  
>"Hey Ayama, a group of ninjas just turned up in the village." Ren says after finding me. I look up, I had just been training my ass off, I'm exhausted.<br>"A group of ninjas?" I ask, catching my breath. He smiles and nods.  
>"Come on, you'll be happy." He says, grabbing my wrist. What the hell is he on about? He starts dragging me along, I may as well have been a rag doll, with no strength left, and his unbelievable speed.<p>

Ren stops when we get to the arch, were a lot of battered-looking Suna ninjas are gathered around looking exhausted.  
>"Well go on." Ren says, nudging my exhausted body forward. I would've fallen over at any minute.<br>"What?" I ask.  
>"Go on." Ren says. "He's been missing you." I blink a few times. I look back at the group of ninjas in front of me, looking around for this person Ren was talking about. That's when I realized that these are the Genin that left to take part in the Chuunin Exams. My eyes widen.<br>"BAKI-KUN!" I call out, hoping wherever he is, that he'd hear me. Ren chuckles behind me. I pout after not hearing a response, but then again, this crowd was pretty loud themselves. I jump and abandon Ren in search of Baki. Ren just kept laughing.  
>Finally, I found Baki talking with Takashi and run over to him, basically leaping on him and giving him the biggest bear hug ever. I think I may have cared him from the sudden 'attack' but I don't care. "Baki!" I exclaim.<br>"Huh? Oh! Ayama!" He replies and hugs me back. Takashi smiles at us. I let him go and step back.  
>"Well?" I ask. He grins.<br>"You're looking at a brand new Chuunin!" He exclaims.  
>"That's great!" I say, tempted to give him another hug, but then I was stopped by Takashi's hand on my shoulder. I look at him, questioning his intentions.<br>"Don't forget me." He says.  
>"You made Chuunin too?" I ask. He nods, then gasps for air as I give him a bear hug.<br>"That's great!" I say. Mariki turns around with a 'hmph'.  
>"She did too, well, basically everyone did." Takashi says.<p>

"And then, in the final round, I versed that Asuma guy." Baki explains.  
>"And..?" I ask.<br>"Well, I kicked his ass." He exclaims. I laugh.  
>"Of course you did." I say with a chuckle. Ren, behind me, laughs.<br>"So, how's things been back here?" Baki asks. I look down.  
>"Well, Kazekage-sama went missing, and he hasn't been found, so we have a new Kazekage, and also Sasori left the village to kill Hatake Sakumo." I explain, trying not to get all upset about it. My words came as a big shock to the three of them.<br>"WHAT?" The three of them question in sync.

Me and Ren explained to them what happened while they were in Konoha. It took a while for them to grasp the reality of it. Not too long after, perhaps three or four days later, we just received word of something huge. Iwagakure has just started war with Konohagakure, and their battle field is Kusagakure, and as Konoha's allies, Sunagakure had to assist. Thus commencing the Third Great Shinobi War. Honestly, it scared me, it scared all of us.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

So it came. My squad's first mission in this war. We had to meet up with a Konoha squad and bring them supplies at the border of the Land of Wind. It got us all worked up, but there weren't many ninja left in the village, they were all out setting up bases in the desert in case Suna gets attacked.  
>When we got to the arch, we got nervous. Ren pats Kiyoshi and me on the back.<br>"We'll get through this." Ren says. Me and Kiyoshi nod, then the three of us head out. Chitori-sensei wasn't with us, instead she was one of the Jonin out fighting on the battlefield. The three of us were trusted to do it alone, so we had to step up and be smart enough.

It took quite a while, possible 13 hours before we got to the destined location, but we got there safely. We saw three people, possibly about our age, sitting around speaking. We jump down to them, startling them. They jump to their feet in fighting stances.  
>"Whoa, relax, relax, are you the Konoha ninjas in need of supplies?" I ask. The boy in the green jumpsuit steps forth.<br>"Yes indeed, and you must be the supply.. bringers?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Sorry, we didn't mean to startle you." I say. He shakes his head.<br>"No, it's fine, we just have our guards raised." Says the girl. I notice she has black hair which looks a little messy, and her eyes look a little odd. "My name is Yuhi Kurenai. This is Morino Ibiki, and Guy." She says, pointing to the guy on her left first then to the guy in the green jumpsuit. The guy that freaked me, Ren and Kiyoshi out.  
>"Right, nice to meet you. I'm Hatano Ayama, this is Okasaka Ren, and Minami Kiyoshi." I say, gesturing to both of them.<br>"Well, nice to meet you Ayama-san." Guy says, grinning. I blink a few times, and everyone else sweatdrops. His grin was really.. intriguing. He had the whitest teeth I've ever seen, and the even sparkled in a place like the desert. After noticing me staring at his teeth with awe, Ren and Kiyoshi sweatdrop more. "You like?" I blink a few times then shake my head, snapping back into reality.  
>"Uhhh, what?" I ask. Ren sighs.<br>"Well here are the supplies." He says, handing over the large bag which we all took turns in carrying. Guy stepped forth and put it on his back.  
>"So how come just you three need so many supplies?" Kiyoshi asks. I was about to hit him when Kurenai answered.<br>"Well, one of our bases were attacked, but most of them are still alive but they're running short on supplies, and we were the closest ninjas to get any, though, we were closer to Suna than Konoha so yeah.." She explains.  
>"Oh, I'm sorry to hear.." I say.<br>"Don't be. It's war.. it's no time for grieving." She says. I nod. I notice Ibiki looking around curiously. I take notice of it and look around too. My eyes widen.  
>"Everyone! Jump back!" I shout. They all gasp and we all jump back several metres. A paper bomb exploded right where we were standing.<br>"Good eye Ayama." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Come on! We have to get out of here!" I say. Everyone nods and the six of us jump off together.<br>"Watch your back!" Guy says, then goes for a kick towards me. My eyes widen at him, he is very fast, I go to fight back, but then once he kicked above me, I heard a grunt then someone tumble to the side. I stop and see he had just protected me. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"Go!" Guy says.<br>"You've got our supplies!" Kurenai exclaims.  
>"Get back, you three." I say, referring to the Konoha ninjas. They obey. My sight is good in the desert, because I am used to it. Same goes for Ren and Kiyoshi. "Blade of Wind!" I kill several Iwa ninjas with that attack. I must admit, they were fast.<br>"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kiyoshi says, sending a very powerful fireball at more enemies.  
>"Geez, how many are there!" Kurenai questions.<br>"I dunno, but I know a safe spot not too far from here, follow me." I say. Everyone nods and follows me.

I lead them to a small cave, more like a hole in one of the giant boulders, and we all manage to fit inside, with plenty of spare room.  
>"Ren, you be on lookout." I say.<br>"Who made you captain?" Ren questions.  
>"Stop fighting, Ren just do it." Kiyoshi says. Ren rolls his eyes and sits at the entrance. The Konoha ninjas were panting like mad. But then I understood why, to someone who isn't used to running on this soft sand, it must be hard. I get a scroll out from my pocket and unravel it. It's the location of all Suna's bases throughout the desert. We're not too far from one of them, but I think we'll be alright in here for now. Ibiki seemed interested.<br>"What's that?" He asks.  
>"... Nothing." I say and roll it back up. Even allies can't always be trusted with secret information. However, he just nods.<br>"Guys, we should inform the nearest base of these attackers." Kiyoshi says. I nod.  
>"That's our plan." I say. "We can get back up from them." I caught Ibiki staring at me, and it made me jump. He looks away immediately, then bites his lip. I glare at him for a second before losing interest.<br>"Okay, so lets get going." Ren says.  
>"Hold on, these foreigners can't handle it." Kiyoshi scoffs. I roll my eyes. Kurenai and Guy get a little angry.<br>"What? Oh, the sand? Heh.." Ren chuckles.  
>"Well, lets see you jump around the trees of the fores-!" Kurenai was cut off by Guy's arm spreading out.<br>"Leave it Kurenai. We don't want to start a fight. After all, we _are_ in their territory." Guy mentions. I had actually forgotten about that for a second.  
>"Hey." I say, getting all their attention. "Would you all just cut it out? Our mission is to get home, your mission is to get those supplies to your bases. So it's not like we have to work together, but at least <em>try <em>and get along." I grumble.  
>"You know what? She's right. Lets all get along." Guy says. I roll my eyes along with everyone else.<br>"Ren," I say. He looks at me and I beckon him with my finger. He shuffles closer and I begin to whisper in his ear. "because you are the fastest one of us, can you try and take off west about 20 metres where one of our bases are located, and inform them of our enemy. Me and Kiyoshi will back you up." Ren nods.  
>"Right, got it." He says. I turn to the Konohas.<br>"We're leaving... good luck." I say. They nod, and the three of us leave. Ren bolts off in the direction indicated, and me and Kiyoshi follow behind, keeping an eye on him.  
>"Ayama."<br>"Yeah?"  
>"I'll look to the sides, you look behind." Kiyoshi says. I nod, then start glimpsing back every few seconds.<p>

"EVERYONE, ALERT!" Calls one of the lookouts as he sees us.  
>"AT EASE!" Ren calls. "WE'RE SUNAGAKURE!" The lookout guy halted Ren as he got 10ft. away. Three guards came out to inspect him, then me and Kiyoshi caught up, raising their alert.<br>"HALT!" Me and Kiyoshi freeze and raise our arms.  
>"It's fine! We're Sunagakure!" I exclaim. After taking us to a building to inspect us and checking us for any illusions or transformation jutsu, they let us go. "Where's the captain?" I ask. The guard points to a rough timber shelter with a table under it, occupied by a few people. I beckon to my two teammates and we go up to the shelter where a guard side steps in front of us.<br>"Please, let us pass, we have urgent information!" I exclaim.  
>"How urgent?" He asks in a calm monotoned voice.<br>"Like... enemies have been spotted, urgent." I say. His eyes widen.  
>"Enemies! Quick, you must report to the chief!" He says, then basically pushes us in.<br>"What is this?" The 'chief' asks. I walk up to his desk, disregarding the other Jonin there. "Genin? What the hell are all of you doing all the way out here?" He asks.  
>"Well, we were given a mission to send supplies to a group of ninjas, then on our way back we were attacked by Iwagakure ninjas." I explain.<br>"Right, give me every detail." He says. I sit down and start explaining everything.

"Good, I'll send a scout team out there. Now, as for you three.. you there, take these three home, and make sure they get there safely." The chief says to the nearest Jonin.  
>"Sir, yes sir!" He replies, saluting. I sweatdrop.<p>

Swiftly and quietly, we make it back to the village in one piece. We go straight to the Kazekage to report in.  
>"Kazekage-sama, mission success." I say as we enter. He looks up.<br>"Good." He replies and looks back down at his desk.  
>"Er, yes, good job," Karura says "you guys need a rest by the looks of you, come on." she starts leading us out.<br>"Karura." The Kazekage says in a deep voice. She pauses.  
>"Yes?"<br>"If you're leaving then send Yashamaru up to take over." He says. Karura looks at him and nods.  
>"Yes.. alright." She says, then taps me and Kiyoshi on the back, telling us to move out.<p>

"Are you his wife?" I ask. She smiles.  
>"Yes, I sure am." She replies.<br>"He seems so hostile though, don't you think?" I ask.  
>"Yes, but that is only because he is stressed dear. Once this war is over, he'll be back to the kindhearted person he is." She says. I automatically love her. She's so sweet and kind, and her voice is really soft. "Huh?" She looks up ahead. "Oh, Yashamaru." She says. A boy that looks slightly young-looking boy approaches us, but then again, on second look, he looks like a teenager, 16, 17 maybe? One thing's for sure, he looks a hell of a lot like Karura.<br>"Oh?" Yashamaru looks up, his expression looks kind and gentle as well. "Onee-san? Something wrong? Who are these children?"  
>"Relax, my husband wants you up there while I take these kids to rest." She says. Yashamaru crouches down.<br>"It's a shame such young children ha-"  
>"I beg your pardon, but I am no longer a child." I huff.<br>"Oh, sorry." Yashamaru says. He opens his mouth to say something when some random came running up the corridor.  
>"Hey, Yashamaru-sama, Karura-sama, did you hear about Sasori?" He asks.<br>"Sasori? Yeah, he ran away, we know." Yashamaru says. The guy shakes his head.  
>"No, his new name."<br>"New name?" I ask. The guy looks at me.  
>"They call him, Akasuna no Sasori. Because he dies the sand red with blood!" He exclaims. My eyes widen.<br>"He's alive!" I question. "Where was he last seen?"  
>"My dear, you're not seriously thinking of finding someone <em>that<em> dangerous are you?" Karura inquires in a worried tone.  
>"He's not dangerous! He's m-..." I look down. I'm not sure I can end that sentence now..<br>"He's what?" Yashamaru asks. I shake my head.  
>"No, don't worry." I say. Ren gives me a concerning look.<br>"Ayama.." He mutters. I just smile reassuringly at him.  
>"It's fine." I say.<br>"Well.. alright, Yashamaru, I think it might be better if you take them.. He's in a pretty stressful mood." Karura says. Yashamaru nods.  
>"Alright, come on you three." Yashamaru says. I really like them both.<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

We were only able to rest for a few hours before we were called the the Kazekage's office again. From then on, our missions included things such as securing the citizen's safety and bringing them supplies and running errands for them and such, as Genin there's not a whole lot we can do, but this was considered important, so we didn't complain. Me, Ren and Kiyoshi barely left each other's side the whole time. We slept, ate and survived together.

What felt like years passed, though it was only two whole months, we received word that the Kannabi Bridge was destroyed by Konoha ninjas, turning the war in their favor. Which means that this war would be over soon, at long last.  
>"Ayama! Where are you?" I hear someone call. I turn around, Ren and Kiyoshi stop too.<br>"What's up?" I ask, still looking for the person. Next thing I know I was glomped from behind.  
>"Ayama-chan!" The person says. I struggle holding him up, I heard a deep voice, so obviously it's a boy.<br>"Wha-who- get off!" I stutter, trying to get them off without success. The boy gets off and stands beside me smiling at me. I look and finally recognize him.  
>"Baki-kun!" I exclaim, we then give each other a bear hug. I can't say how long it's been since the two of us last saw each other, but it has been quite some time. Takashi and Mariki were there too, Mariki didn't seem too happy about being dirty either. Just then a Jonin came running past.<br>"Hurry! Gather all Chuunin and Jonin! We're under attack!" He calls. My eyes widen. Us! Under attack! Baki went to run off when I pull on his arm. He looks back at me.  
>"Ayama.. I'll make it back, I promise." He says. I nod.<br>"Please do." I say. Then him and his squad run off toward the arch.  
>"You Genin there, please evacuate the citizens immediately!" Orders that Jonin and he kept on running, announcing. I nod at my group and we run off to separate houses, getting all the citizens to safety.<p>

It wasn't long before we heard bombs and such exploding outside. All the Genin were in charge of keeping the citizens inside the hidden evacuation buildings, but as for me, I had to get out there and make sure nothing gets in.  
>"Ren, Kiyoshi, lets go." I say. They look at me strangely.<br>"Ayama, we can't go out there, it's too dangerous." Kiyoshi says.  
>"But what if they find us? The citizens, they'll be doomed. Come on." I say, tugging on his shirt. They give each other a weary look before following me outside. Things were quiet. Buildings had been destroyed or damaged. I look around curiously, almost scared. Before we knew it, we were under attack. Several Iwa ninja jump out at once, from out of no where at us. I deflect them all with my bamboo stick, swinging it around with great speed and strength. "Wind Style: Deadly Strike Jutsu." I say, then with a swing of my bamboo stick, I create a very deadly wind current, slicing righ through the enemies. Kiyoshi and Ren stand back. The scent of blood must have attracted more, because a lot more came after us then. Ren ran ahead and took out a few with his unseeable speed, and Kiyoshi killed many with combustion. I stuck to fighting with my bamboo, before they managed to disarm me. After all, these guys <em>are<em> Jonin. I have no idea where my puppet scrolls went, and now I had nothing but my fists to fight. So I thought. After punching one, I remembered the one thing I should never have forgotten about.  
>"Ren! Kiyoshi! We have to retreat!" I call. They weren't reluctant to listen. They both use smoke bombs and disappear back into the hidden building – which can only be seen by the eyes of Sunagakure's ninjas. I was about to get a smoke bomb out myself when I was hit in the face and sent flying backwards into a building. I dropped the smoke bomb while in the air, so now I had no hope. I pull out the thing, the one thing that could possibly save me right now. A kunai. Not just any kunai, but a certain kunai with my name engraved into it, and small razor sharp points on the edge of the blade. A certain weapon given to me by my best friend. Baki. I haven't used it before, which makes me feel bad right now, after having it for so many years then forgetting about it.<br>I jump from the building I was smacked into and try to get to that door. I was pelted with a few kunai and shuriken in both arms, which bloody hurt, as I ran. One stepped in front of me and I slice him with the kunai, knocking him out of the way. Only a meter to go when I was hit again. A kunai to the leg, making me fall over. I accidentally let go of the kunai and it went flying. I bite my lip. The enemies remaining went to finish me off when I was saved.  
>"Ayama, you really gotta learn to stop getting yourself into trouble." The person says. I look up, almost in disbelief.<br>"Chitori-sensei?" I question. I could only see the back of her, but I didn't care, by sensei was back.  
>"Get inside." She says. I had no intention of disobeying and went inside. I was pounded almost immediately by Ren.<br>"You scared the crap out of us!" He says.  
>"Get off me, it hurts." I groan, pushing him off.<p>

They bandage my arms and leg up.. such novices, it's like they have no idea what they're doing. I had to go along with it though, just to shut them up. As the day progressed, all the Jonin were coming home for the end of the war, and the more that came home, the more Iwagakure ninjas were killed, even though the Suna Jonin were worn out and battered, they still had strength to protect their home.

It wasn't until the next day we were allowed outside. Once we were outside, and heard the war was over, I never felt so happy. Everyone spent the day celebrating, and tomorrow was going to be a day of mourning. Me, Ren and Kiyoshi went to find Chitori-sensei. She was with Kazuya-sensei talking. We run up behind her and give her a group hug. We made her jump at first but then she laughs.  
>"Good morning you three, how are you today Ayama?" Chitori asks.<br>"Much better." I reply. Then something catches our eye and we stare up at her curiously. Chitori-sensei has a bandage on her head, covering her left eye, and the bandages show a small red patch.  
>"What happened sensei?" Kiyoshi asks, stealing the words out of my mouth.<br>".. I lost my eye." She replies. We all gasp. "Yes, the pain was unbearable, but I made it through."  
>"Chitori-sensei." We all say in unison. We give her another hug.<br>"Boy am I glad I get to see you all again, and that you're alright." She says.  
>"Yeah, we're perfectly fine." I declare. Ren and Kiyoshi make an affirmative sound and nod.<br>"Ayama!" I hear some angry tone call. As I go to turn my head, I was punched in the cheek and forced over and slid a bit. Everyone gasps, not expecting this. I look up, still shocked by what just happened. I saw my attacker and gasp. Baki. Baki just punched me. I squint my eyes at him in a glare. "How could you do that!" He gushes.  
>"You're the one that punched me!" I exclaim, standing back up. He held up my kunai – the one with my name engraved in it, but is unseen because it's covered in blood.<br>"You scared the crap out of me." He says. "Making me think you were dead." I look down, he was right. Seeing something so precious covered in blood and lying around would make it seem I was dead. He should hit me again for being so foolish. He clenched a fist, and so I prepared for another hit. But it never came. When I opened my eyes I was half shocked. Baki had his arms around me tightly, and sobbing on my shoulder. A faint smile comes across my face. He's such a great friend. I put my arms around him and hug him back.  
>"It's my fault Baki. All my fault." I say, remembering dragging my two teammates boldly out onto the battlefield.<br>"I know!" He cries. I was actually expecting him to retort, but I was happy he didn't, because I wasn't in the mood for an argument. After a few minutes he calmed himself down and took a few deep breaths. I use my sleeve and wipe his face clean from all the tears, dirt and blood. He smiles at me with soft eyes.  
>"Baki-kun, thank you." I say, then take my kunai back. He lets out a sigh of relief.<br>"I'm so glad you're alive." He says. "Without you.. I don't know. You're my best friend Ayama."  
>"And you're mine." I say. We both smile at each other. Things were going to go back to normal. Except for one thing. One big thing. We found out after returning home (to his house) and saw a Jonin sitting on the front steps, apparently waiting for us, or rather, Baki.<p>

"What's going on?" Baki asks the man. He stands up.  
>"Son.. I'm sorry." He says. I had a hunch from his words. So did Baki.<br>"They.. didn't make it?" Baki asks. The Jonin shakes his head.  
>"They both passed in each others arms, protecting each other." He says. Baki just nods and accepts it, I couldn't understand how though. Even though they weren't my parents, I still felt like I had just lost someone really important.<br>"Right.. I understand." Baki says. The Jonin nods and puts a hand on his shoulder.  
>"I'm really sorry son." He says.<br>"It's alright." Baki says, then walks past him and goes inside. I look at the man with watery eyes.  
>"Are you his sister?" He asks. I shake my head.<br>"Friend." I reply. He nods.  
>"Sorry." He says. I shrug.<br>"It's not your fault." I say.  
>"Alright, well at least he has someone." He says. I nod then he leaves. I go inside to Baki sitting on the couch, staring at the roof.<br>"Baki.." I mumble, full of pity.  
>"It's alright Ayama.. I was prepared for this." He says. "As much as I wanted them to come home safe, I knew I shouldn't raise my hopes, just in case." I go and sit beside him.<br>"Don't you feel even the slightest bit sad?" I ask.  
>".. Yes. I.."<br>"You don't have to bottle it up, I'm here." I say. He looks at me then bites his lip. "It's okay, you can let it out, you'll feel better if you do." Next thing I know, he burst out crying and latches onto my shirt, crying into my shoulder. I rub his back.  
>"It's not fair." He cries.<p>

I let him cry it all out until he had no tears left, I didn't once shush him or tell him it'll be alright, because I don't like to lie, not about these things. I just held him and rubbed his back the whole time. He calmed down hours later, feeling tired. I get him a tissue, or a box of them, and he wipes his face dry. I give him another hug. Honestly, I expected to be up all night with this, but no.  
>"I'm sure they wouldn't want me mourning forever." Baki finally says. I give a smile.<br>"Yeah, they'll want to see you become a great shinobi one day." I say. He smiles at me.  
>"You're right. I'm gonna make them proud!" He says.<br>"I'm sure you will." I say.

It's safe to say that another week passed. Everything went back to normal, and so, we started getting normal missions again. Some of them were still related to the war, like transporting stuff from the bases in the desert back home. Those missions were usually given to Genin as all the Jonin were too worn out and most of them were in hospital. Chuunins came in place of Jonins, so Baki came with my squad for most missions as our leader.

I wished that could continue forever with Baki as our squad's leader, but Chitori-sensei was back, and she was as tough as ever, even with a missing eye. She now wore an eyepatch which in my opinion, looks freaking awesome! Oh, and I can't help but notice a little spark between her and Kazuya-sensei, hehehe. Oh, and as for Karura and Yashamaru-sama, I get to see them every now and again when we go to the Kazekage's office, but we don't get to talk much, which was kind of a disappointment because they seem really cool, and between you and me, I think Yashamaru looks kinda hot hehe. However, Ren and Kiyoshi tease me about it often, even though I deny it.

One particular morning, me and Baki were surprised at some mysterious visitor. After arguing who was gonna get up and answer, I had to get up. I don't bother putting my gown on over my baggy grey trackies and black tank top, I just go as is. I open the door.  
>"Hello?" I ask. Can I just say that hooded figures scare me a little?<br>"Hello." The person replies. There was an awkward silence.  
>"Uhh, so what do you want?" I ask.<br>"It's me, Yashamaru." He says.  
>"Oh really?" I ask, frowning. "Then what's with the hood?"<br>"The sand, it gets in my eyes, so I wear this." He explains. Yeah right.  
>"Ren, knock it off." I grumble. The hooded person sighs and vanishes in a puff of smoke. Did I mention Ren has been working on his second jutsu? The Transformation Jutsu. His first is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. "You made me get out of bed for this?" I grumble.<br>"Aw, miss sleepy head who needs her beauty sleep." He mocks.  
>"Where's Kiyoshi?" I ask.<br>"I dunno, can't find him, so I've come to annoy you." He says. I slam the door shut and go back upstairs and get back in bed.  
>"Who was it?" Baki asks.<br>"Ren." I reply. Baki groans and the two of us go back to sleep. For the entire day.

Two years passed. They just flew by. My 13 year old self is now very happy, why? Well it's a little something Chitori-sensei said yesterday. I zip my sack up and throw it over my shoulder.  
>"Ready?" Baki asks. I nod.<br>"Ya. Are you gonna be alright without me?" I ask.  
>"Psh, of course." He says. I roll my eyes and laugh.<br>"We'll see." I say.  
>"Nah, this wont even make a difference." He proclaims. I raise an eyebrow and make an offended sound.<br>"Well in that case I wont come back." I say. He laughs, knowing I am joking.  
>"You couldn't survive three days without me around." He says.<br>"Hey, at least while I'm gone, I'll have the tranquility of not having a bed stealer during the night." I mention. He just frowns. "Anyway, come on, I don't want to be late meeting everyone." I say. He nods and we leave the house.

We get to the arch where a group of Genin are gathered. I meet up with my squad. Kiyoshi wasn't here yet.  
>"Where is he?" I ask, approaching Ren and Chitori-sensei.<br>"Who knows?" Chitori-sensei says.  
>"Probably still packing." Ren says.<br>"I'm getting excited." I say, completely changing the subject. Ren nods.  
>"I know! It's gonna be so awesome!" Ren says.<br>"What the hell?" I ask, seeing Kiyoshi coming. Ren and Chitori-sensei turn around. Kiyoshi has the biggest bag of us all.  
>"I'm here." He pants, his bag seems to be two times bigger than what he is. We all sweatdrop. Thus, we left, headed for Konoha. For the thing we've been waiting for. Our Chuunin Exams.<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

It took 3 days until we were even close to Konoha. We eventually found the dirt road and walk along it for about 2 hours before we see something up ahead.  
>"Look! Konoha is just ahead!" Someone calls. The thing I saw are giant green gates.<br>"Right you three, follow me to our room, then you can go around the village, do not cause chaos or get into any trouble. And don't get lost." Chitori-sensei nod and follow her to a small hotel. Our room has two bunk beds inside, so obviously I was going to have to share with Chitori-sensei because the boys will want to share one. It wasn't fair because I wanted bottom bunk, but Chitori-sensei wouldn't let me. I have a thing with sleeping up high, I don't like it. I have this fear of heights, I don't mind jumping around on rooftops of buildings, but when it comes to tall high towers, or flying, that's where it gets to me. Sleeping that high off the ground makes me shiver.  
>"Please Chitori-sensei! Let me have bottom bunk!" I plead.<br>"Ayama, stop complaining, it's only for a few nights." She says. Kiyoshi seemed to be thinking something.  
>"Well I want top bunk, hey Ayama, wanna swap?" He asks.<br>"Yes!" I reply. I took his bottom bunk, and Kiyoshi took my top bunk.

After unpacking a little, we head out to explore. We went to a few different streets, admiring how lively the surroundings were, full of plants and flowers, it just made everything look so wonderful. We don't have any trees in Suna, and the only plants we have are cacti, and the only flowers are the ones that grow on them.  
>"Hey look! It's that new ramen shop, lets go try some!" Says a girl, running past us, dragging two boys along with her.<br>"Kurenai, slow down please." Says one of them. Kurenai.. I know her.  
>"I know them." Kiyoshi says in that tone like he just thought of something.<br>"Yeah, should we say hello?" Ren asks. They both look at me.  
>"What?" I ask.<br>"Should we?" Kiyoshi asks.  
>"I don't know." I reply.<br>"Yeah, lets go." Ren says, then runs off after them. Kiyoshi follows. I just start walking, in no particular hurry. Honestly, I just wanted to train or something.  
>"Well, don't you two look familiar, what are you doing here?" Kurenai asks.<br>"We're here for the Chuunin Exams." Ren replies. By now, I had caught up to them. Guy was apparently looking around for me, because he seemed to smile once he saw me. His teeth were still as white as ever. Ren and Kiyoshi sweatdrop again once noticing me looking at his teeth again. I also noticed they've all grown a little taller since last time.  
>"Why hello again..." Guy trailed off, thinking.<br>"... Ayama." I say. He clicks his fingers.  
>"Yes! Ayama. Nice to see you again." He says. Ibiki nods a hello, I nod back.<br>"So know any good places to eat?" Kiyoshi asks. Me and Ren facepalm ourselves. I just knew he'd ask that sooner or later.  
>"Well, actually, we're about to go and check out the new ramen shop. Ichiraku Ramen." Kurenai answers.<br>"Can we come?" Kiyoshi asks.  
>"Yeah... sure.. why not?" She says.<br>"Of course you can." Guy says, stepping forward to me, that smile still stuck on his face. I blink a few times, wondering why he seems so happy around me.

So the six of us go to this Ichiraku Ramen place, however, we were disappointed to find that there are only five stools.  
>"Don't worry Ayama-chan, you can have my chair." Guy offers.<br>"But what about you?" I ask.  
>"Do not worry about me, I'm sure Ibiki will give me his chair." He says. Ibiki frowns at his teammate.<br>"Guy, don't be an idiot." Kurenai sighs. Guy have her a confused look. I took this chance to accept his offer and sit down. Ren sat on my left, and Guy tried to sit on my right, but Ibiki sat there, then beside him was Kiyoshi then Kurenai. I order some Miso Ramen, coz it looks good, and I was right. I'm not too sure what everyone else ordered, but then again I paid no attention. Kiyoshi had three bowls, Ren had two and like everyone else, I had one bowl. Guy had to stand up which I thought was funny for some reason.  
>Afterwards, we all stood outside of Ichiraku Ramen supposed to be saying goodbye, but I had to ruin it.<br>"Well, I had fun." Kurenai says.  
>"Yeah, it was still nice meeting you." Ren says. I raise an eyebrow, Ren <span>never<span> says that. Kiyoshi sniggers at this and I smirk. Kurenai smiles and nods at him. Guy stepped beside me again.  
>"And it was nice meeting you Ayama." He says. I look at him and smile.<br>"Yes, you too." I say. "Hey, I've got an idea." He looks at me.  
>"And what is this idea of yours?" He asks.<br>"Wanna spar? You seem pretty tough." I say. He seems to get fire in his eyes, then he cheers.  
>"Woo! I am very glad you said that!" He exclaims, he then grabs both my hands in his and stares at me face to face.. it was a little freaky. Ibiki sighs.<br>"Great, mister training geek has a new partner." Ibiki grumbles. I heard him though.  
>"Training geek? Really?" I ask, looking back at the fire in Guy's eyes.<br>"Thaaaaaaaaat's right! I train hard all day and night! I will become the best taijutsu shinobi in the world!" He exclaims.  
>"Taijutsu? So that means you're good at taijutsu too?" I question, now seriously interested. He seemed to be more interested when I said 'too'.<br>"Yes! It's all I know!" He says.  
>"Well me and my team are taijutsu masters!" I exclaim – perhaps exaggerating the tiniest bit by saying 'masters'.<br>"That is amazing!" Guy exclaims. "Let us go spar!" I nod and the two of us run off randomly to find somewhere, leaving everyone standing around clueless at what had just happened.  
>"... Well, I'm still hungry, so I'm gonna go find somewhere else to eat." Kiyoshi says then starts walking.<br>"Well I'm gonna go find somewhere to relax for a while." Ren says. Kurenai and Ibiki look at each other and shrug.

Guy lead me to a field just outside of Konoha. "I come here often to train." He says.  
>"This place is so cool." I say, seriously, for a person who has never seen a green area, this place looked amazing.<br>"You think so? Everyone else thinks it looks ordinary." Guy says, scratching his chin at the view.  
>"Well it's awesome." I say. He smiles at me again. "Well, lets start shall we?" He gives me a thumbs up and a big grin, making his teeth sparkle, seriously it was fascinating.<br>"Yes!"  
>"Don't hold back!" I say.<br>"Very well, I'll give it all I've got!" Guy says. I nod.  
>"Same here." I say. So it begun, the ultimate taijutsu battle. He came straight at me, throwing punches and aerial kicks my way, I block them, trying to get in position to attack, but his speed was incredible, but not like Ren, Ren was way faster.. at running around. Finally my chance came and I threw a punch, but he blocks it.<p>

It turned into a hit and block fight. We couldn't hit each other at all, and it was tiring. The spar lasted all day, and once the sun started going down, coloring the sky orange, yes, we were still going. We showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. I was surprised that no one came looking for us.  
>Finally, I got a hit, I managed to give a kick to his rib, knocking him over. I jump back immediately and stood there, I realized I was panting, so I stood still for a minute to catch my breath while keeping a close eye on Guy as he slowly got up and started panting himself. We both stared at each other, sweat dripping from our foreheads.<br>"What kind of thing are you up to now?" I heard a boy ask. We both turn and see a boy about our age walking up to us. He has grey hair and a mask covering his face. The boy seemed to show seriousness in his eyes. One eye I noticed has a big scar down it, and that eye was shut. It reminded me of Chitori-sensei.  
>"Kakashi." Guy says, regaining his breath. Just then I started hearing voices. '<em>I'm leaving, I'm going to kill Hatake Sakumo.<em>' I shake my head. Why did Sasori come to my mind just now? Something about this boy made me dislike him. He gave me a weird look because of my glare.  
>"Who are you?" I ask.<br>"Hatake Kakashi." He says. My eyes widened. I lunge forward, grab the collar of his shirt and pin him to the ground.  
>"WHERE IS HATAKE SAKUMO?" I question. His visible eye widened from the sudden 'attack' and his left eye opened slightly.<br>"Why does a foreigner like you want to know?" He asks, seeming irritated that I mentioned that name.  
>"Tell me so I can kill him." I growl. Guy seemed to back off a bit.<br>"He's already dead, and why would you want to kill him!" Kakashi questions. I back off a little. Sasori must have already gotten to him. I sigh.  
>"Then how long has he been dead?" I ask. He screws his face up at me.<br>"He's been dead for many years." He says. "Since I was little." I sigh again, so then Sasori wont be coming back. I was about to get off him, when he attacked me, pinning me to the ground suddenly. "And if you're an assassin, I wont hesitate to kill you now." Kakashi says, drawing a kunai and putting it to my throat.  
>"Kakashi, what's going on?" Guy asks.<br>"Hold on Guy. I wanna know why she's here." Kakashi says, not taking his eye off me.  
>"I'm here for the Chuunin Exams." I state.<br>"Then why did you try to kill me just now?" He asks.  
>"I didn't try to kill you, baka. It's Sakumo that I wanted to kill." I say.<br>"Why!" He questions, putting the blade right up against my skin.  
>"Beca-" Something unexpected happened, someone ran up and kicked Kakashi off me, making him fly back a bit. I sit up to see Ren standing there. I stand up too.<br>"Don't you hurt my teammate." Ren growls. I stand beside him. Kakashi opens his left eye and we both gasp. Sharingan. Was this guy an Uchiha? Did he lie about his name?  
>"Who are you?" Kakashi questions.<br>"My name is none of your business. Now leave my teammate alone." Ren gushes. I look at Ren, he's never really protected me or Kiyoshi like this before.  
>"So there are two of you." Kakashi says. "I should kill you both."<br>"Now hold on just a minute, surely Ayama has a reason for attacking you." Guy intervenes. Kakashi looks at Guy thoughtfully.  
>"Hm. You're right. Well? What's your reason for attacking me?" Kakashi asks.<br>"You attacked him?" Ren asks. Kakashi seems to cool off a little after hearing that.  
>"Err, well you see Kakashi, Sakumo killed one of my closest friend's parents. That caused him to be alone all his life and he left the village to pay him back.. but it seems he's been beaten to it, I uh, guess I got a little angry hearing the name Hatake come out of your mouth.. sorry about that." I explain, then look down.<br>"Hatake? So this guy.." Ren says then looks at Kakashi.  
>"I'm Sakumo's son." Kakashi says.<br>"I see... well sorry for attacking you." I say  
>"So this guy's dad killed senpai's parents?" Ren asks.<br>"You still refer to him as senpai?" I ask. He nods.  
>"Well it's basically the same with you, you would still call him sensei, right?" Ren asks.<br>"Yeah." I reply, seeing his point.  
>"Sensei? So you were this guy's student?" Guy asks.<br>"Ya. He was the best sensei in the world.. but now he wont come back, especially now that he can't complete the task he set out to do." I explain.  
>"Well I'm sorry to hear about him." Kakashi says then laughs a bit, making us all look at him. "I guess I highly overreacted. Then again, you're not the first person to go searching for my father to kill him." I nod.<br>"Er.. I'm sorry." I repeat.  
>"Nah it's okay." Kakashi says. Ren was still glaring at him, but I choose to ignore it. Kakashi faces Guy. "So what were you two up to?" Guy gets a grin then gives Kakashi a thumbs up.<br>"I've been training with my new training partner!" He exclaims. Kakashi sweatdrops. I laugh a bit. Sure that whole pose was weird, but I find it funny. Kakashi looks at me.  
>"New training partner?" He asks. I nod.<br>"That's right." I say. Ren looks at me and sighs.  
>"So everything is fine then?" Ren asks.<br>"Yeah." I reply, then laugh. "I can't believe you actually tried to protect me." His face becomes a little red.  
>"Umm... y-yeah.." He replies then looks the other way. I sense something.<br>"Well what're teammates for?" I say and put my hand on his shoulder, making him jump.  
>"Y-yeah, that's right." He says. "... Speaking of which, I'm off to find Kiyoshi. Goodbye." He says rather quickly then jumps away. I blink a few times, wondering why he wanted to get away so quickly.<br>"It's getting late. I should get going." Kakashi says, noting the orange sky. I look up.  
>"Yeah, I should too." I say, then turn around and start walking. A few steps later I stop. Kakashi had already gone, I will say that he is pretty quick.<br>"Is something wrong?" Guy asks, walking up beside me.  
>"Uhhh, well you see, I don't know the way back to the hotel I'm staying in." I say and nervously laugh, feeling like a complete idiot. He just chuckles.<br>"Then allow me to escort you back." He says, holding his arm out. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"Um, thanks." I reply, but don't link arms with him.<p>

"Yes, this is the place." I say, stopping.  
>"Oh, well then I bid you a good night." Guy says, giving me a half bow.<br>"Um, yeah, you too. Thanks." I say then go inside. I go to our room where everyone is already getting ready for bed. "Guys, you do realize the sun hasn't even properly set." I mention. They all look at me.  
>"Where have you been?" Chitori-sensei asks.<br>"Training." I reply. She laughs.  
>"I should've known." She says.<br>"Speaking of which, Ren, Kiyoshi, we never train anymore." I mention.  
>"... Ayama, we train everyday." Kiyoshi says. I scratch my cheek in thought.<br>"Heh.. yeah, we do, don't we?" I say. They roll their eyes.  
>"Becoming a little senile are we?" Ren chuckles. I glare at him.<br>"Shut up you." I growl. Chitori-sensei could sense a fight.  
>"Right you three, settle down." She says.<br>"I'm hungry." Kiyoshi says.

Thus, the night passed with Kiyoshi complaining about being hungry, and oh my God, Kiyoshi snores o.o

So morning finally came, and the one thing about my squad is that we're all hyperactive, so we were up when the sun started to rise. Me and Chitori-sensei kicked the boys out once they got ready, so that we could have some privacy to get ready ourselves. Afterwards we went out to meet up with the other Sand shinobi.  
>"The first part of the exams start soon, we'll have to get there early." Chitori-sensei says. We nod.<br>"Lets go now." I say.  
>"No, they wouldn't have started preparing yet. We'll go at 9:30, it starts at 10." She says. "It's 7 now."<br>"Does that mean we get to train?" I ask. She sighs.  
>"I suppose." She says. Me, Ren and Kiyoshi hi-five each other then run off to train. I lead them to the training grounds that Guy showed me, and we fought each other for three hours. Yes, we completely lost track of time. We now found ourselves running to the building where the first part of the exam was soon to begin. Ren bolted way ahead, leaving me and Kiyoshi behind. We figured he found the place because he never came back looking for us.<p>

"Ayama, Kiyoshi, where have you two been?" Chitori-sensei questions in a hiss.  
>"We got lost." I admit. She rolls her eyes and pushes us into a room where all the other Genin are. A Jonin inside lead us to separate seats... I was put beside Guy.<br>"Hello Ayama, nice to see you again." He says.  
>"... It's been 15 hours.." I reply. He gives me a thumbs up and a grin.<br>"Exactly!" Oh brother... someone help me..


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"There will be three parts of these Chuunin Exams." Says a guy up the front, capturing everyone's attention. He was big and tough-looking. "The first part is a intelligence test, the second part is a survival test, and the third part is a strength test." He explains. I smile confidently. Too easy. "You may be thinking this is easy," oh how did he know? "however, these exams may be the hardest things you've ever come across. If you thought they will be anything like the exams you took to become a Genin, think again." I liked the sound of that, I need a challenge.  
>"This will be a breeze." I heard Guy mutter to himself. Apparently he likes to talk to himself sometimes.<br>"Now, this first part is merely answering a few questions." He says. I raise an eyebrow. He picks up a big pile of paper and starts putting on in front of each person. I frown, not another written exam.

It took him a few minutes to do that, then he goes back up the front. Guy hit his head against the table, it would seem he's just like me, dreading written pieces.  
>"You will have 45 minutes to answer each of these questions. I don't want to hear a sound... Begin." I look at the paper in front of me. I read the first question. '<em>Name the most dangerous kinjutsu.<em>' I blink a few times. '_How the heck am I supposed to know something like that!_' My eye twitches. Guy had the same clueless expression as me. We both look at each other with an expression that said 'I'm screwed'. It's now that I regret not studying much in the two years I spent at the academy. I've decided that once I return home, I am going to study a lot more.

I managed to answer (guess) some of the questions, and I let Guy copy some without being caught, because I know exactly how he feels.  
>"Your time is up." Says the guy up the front. I look around, I saw Ibiki sitting two tables down from mine in the same row. He had the biggest grin of confidence ever. Maybe he is super smart or something. "I will come around and collect your papers soon. Now, as for the next part, you will be meeting at the gates of Konoha at precisely 9am tomorrow. Do not be late."<p>

I got up and follow Guy outside. "Thanks again Ayama, if you hadn't given me any answers I would've turned in a blank sheet." Guy says.  
>"Nah, it's fine. But most of them were just guesses..." I admit.<br>"Well I'm sure they are right!" He says with a thumbs up.  
>"Yeah thanks." I say, not taking too much notice to the fact he just complimented me. "So what do you suppose we're doing tomorrow for this <em>survival<em> test?" I ask.  
>"I have no clue. But I reckon it's gonna be tough, so I must train to prepare for it." He says.<br>"Can I come?" I ask, really needing to move around after sitting around for ages... okay, it was about an hour, but so what? He gives me a thumbs up and grins.  
>"Of course! We must make the most of our youth!" He exclaims. I sweatdrop.<br>"Um, yes, that's right." I reply, kinda speechless and give him a thumbs up too. His smile widens and he grabs my arm and drags me along with him. By this time Ren and Kiyoshi came out looking for me.  
>"Hey look, she's going off with that weirdo again." Kiyoshi says, pointing me out.<br>"Heh, I wonder if they're going out?" Ren replies.  
>"Oooh! We should so follow them! Lets go!" Kiyoshi exclaims and drags Ren along with him.<br>"Yayayaya, stop dragging me!" Ren complains, then runs alongside him.

Me and Guy trained for the rest of the day, until the sun was gone and the moon took it's place. I felt like my knees were going to give in and the sweat that poured off me was unbelievable, it's like training with both Ren _and_ Kiyoshi in one – and that says something.  
>"I'm.. going... to.. win.." Guy pants.<br>"No... you're... not..." I pant. Just then Guy steps forth to begin running, but his leg gave in and he fell over. I fell over too.  
>".. Draw." We both say in unison, then agree on it.<br>"Well well, seems they're only training buddies." I hear Ren's voice.  
>"Yeah, boring." Kiyoshi says, they both approach us. I just groan in response, too exhausted to even move my head to face them. "So are you planning on staying here all night or..?" Kiyoshi asks, crouching down and poking me. I groan again.<br>"Looks like she's sleeping out here then." Ren sniggers. Kiyoshi grins, but I didn't see it. I groan louder. '_Why can't they just carry me back or something? So lazy._'  
>"Why don't we carry them?" Kiyoshi suggests. '<em>Finally, his first good idea in how long?<em>'  
>"Why would we do that? They have legs." Ren says. I sigh.<br>"I dunno, 'coz we're teammates?" Kiyoshi says. I smile.  
>"So?" Ren asks. "I'm sure she can manage." I frown. '<em>These two are hopeless.<em>'  
>"I will carry Ayama back, and you can carry him." Kiyoshi says, grabbing my arm and putting it around his neck, pulling me up onto his back. He stands up and my head just plops lazily on his shoulder.<br>"Why would I do that? And why are you carrying her?" Ren asks. '_Well obviously because he cares about me.'_  
>"Because it's like a way of training, weight-lifting." Kiyoshi replies. '<em>Forget my last thoughts.<em>' I sigh. "Oh, now I get it." Ren says, then picks Guy up. "Geez this guy is heavy." Guy starts snoring. I couldn't believe it, he was asleep already.  
>"It's probably those leg weights." Kiyoshi says.<br>"What leg weights?" Ren asks, stealing my thoughts.  
>"Under those orange leggings. Haven't you noticed?" Kiyoshi asks. My eyes wouldn't even open I was that exhausted, so I couldn't see, it was pretty frustrating. I think that's when I was ready to fall asleep myself. "Anyway, lets go."<br>"Wait wait wait, where does this guy live anyway?" Ren asks.  
>"How the heck would I know?" Kiyoshi replies, then starts jumping through the trees. The cool breeze of the wind felt nice on my face.<br>"Is she asleep?" Ren asks.  
>"I think so." Kiyoshi replies. '<em>No, I'm not. I'm wide awake.<em>' I was so exhausted, I couldn't even groan anymore.  
>".. I think she pushes herself too much." Ren says. That small little voice telling me to sleep disappeared. I wanted to hear this.<br>"Yeah.. she might end up killing herself one day." Kiyoshi replies.  
>"Yeah, she tries so hard, it's actually kind of inspirational." Ren says. '<em>Inspirational? Me?<em>_**'  
><strong>_"Yeah it is. I'm actually glad she's on our squad." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Mm, same." I would've emotionally cried, but yeah no energy, it wasn't gonna happen. The drowsiness was taking over. '<em>No! No no no, I can't fall asleep yet! I wanna listen to them!<em>' My hearing became muffled, but I did hear one of them say something that sounded like: "Oroher" then I felt Kiyoshi tense up slightly.

The next morning I woke up to two faces staring at me. It made me jump and I hit my head on the bunk above. "Ow!" I groan and hold my head.  
>"Morning sleeping beauty." Kiyoshi scoffs.<br>"Leave me alone!" I gush – morning crankiness.  
>"Heh, I liked her better when she was sleeping." Ren chuckles.<br>"What time is it?" I ask, remembering that we had to be at the next exam by 9.  
>"It's 8. We have an hour." Kiyoshi answers. I jump up and go into the bathroom and lock the door. I got out of my clothes and got in the nice warm shower. The water here was so much more nicer than the water back home.<p>

I must've stayed in the shower for about 20 minutes before getting out and changed into my ninja attire. I go out of the bathroom and ruffle my shoulder-length hair with my towel.  
>"Long enough shower?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"Yeah, you should have one, it's nice." I say.  
>"Yeah, she's right." Ren says. I look at him. "What? I had one earlier."<br>"Oh, right." I say and continue ruffling my hair.  
>"Alright then." Kiyoshi says and goes into the bathroom. I blink a few times.<br>"He better not take forever." Ren says. I nod and continue ruffling my hair. After it was dry enough I brush it – there were a lot of knots – and put my headband on. I grab the three puppet scrolls and attach them to my belt around my waist, then put my bamboo stick in the slot in the belt around my upper body.  
>"Well I'm all set." I say, grabbing my ninja sandals.<br>"Good for you." Ren says. I seriously felt refreshed, and it was the best feeling in the world. "Nice bruise."  
>"Huh?" I notice he was looking at my arm. I look at my upper arm and see the biggest bruise ever. It was really noticeable. I just had that urge. I poked it to see how much it hurt – and it hurt a lot. I wince slightly.<br>"Here." Ren says, holding out some ointment. I look at it.  
>"Nah, that's only for gashes and stuff. I'm tough." I reply, grinning. He rolls his eyes.<p>

I bang on the door harder than Ren. "Kiyoshi! Get out!" I shout. Ren was about to punch the door down.  
>"Get out dammit! We're gonna be late!" Ren shouts. We heard the taps stop and Kiyoshi came out with a towel around his waist.<br>"What?" He asks, shaking his head, making the water fly off his hair and onto us. I look away, no I did not blush, this was just gross (he does have a nice upper body though ;) )  
>"We're gonna be late, we've got 10 minutes before we have to be there." Ren says.<br>"Ohhh, right." He says then comes out and grabs his ridiculously big bag and rummages through it until he finds his ninja clothes then he drops the towel (luckily I wasn't looking) and gets dressed. I faced the blank wall the entire time. I know I seem boyish and all, but I'm not a boy, so they just can't do that, it's just wrong.

We found ourselves running to the gates of Konoha – we arrived just as the proctor (the same one from yesterday) started talking.  
>"Welcome everyone. This is the second part of the exam," He explains. Chitori-sensei saw us arrive and whacks us all over the head for being late, her hand got wet after that because all our hairs were still pretty damp. Kiyoshi's was dripping wet. "this is a survival test. There is a destination in these woods that you must find, then you will grab a scroll, which will then tell you where to go next, but be warned, there are only 5 scrolls, so the first 5 teams to get there will have the advantage. Those of you who do not make it, will have to either track down the squads with the scrolls or use the clues around you and work it out." He explains. I had to admit, this sounded fun. "Each of you will get a small map of the Land of Fire so you hopefully don't get lost. There are no clues on the map, it's just a plain map. And the scrolls location is marked on the map, but you will have to look at it closely. This part may last several days, and some of you may not make it back alive. This is why we call it a 'survival test'."<br>"Here you go." Says a Jonin, handing me a map, and going around to the rest of the squads. I look at the map. Ren and Kiyoshi lean over and look too. I heard Kiyoshi chuckle to himself, he must've figured it out.  
>"Now, good luck and be careful. Begin." Says the proctor and every squad jumps off.. except ours. I look at Kiyoshi, mentally questioning the whereabouts of the scrolls. He gave me a blank look.<br>"What?" He asks.  
>"Do you see the mark?" I ask. He snatches the map from me and examines it. Chitori-sensei sighs.<br>"Would you three get out there already?" She questions. I nod.  
>"Come on, we'll work it out on the way." I say. They both nod and we jump off into the forest.<p>

"I can't see anything." Kiyoshi says, his eyes still glued to the map.  
>"Watch out!" I exclaim. He looks up and gasps, but doesn't stop in time. He ran dead-smack into a tree. Me and Ren stop to laugh.<br>"This is pathetic." Ren laughs.  
>"Tell me about it." I laugh. Kiyoshi frowns at us and straightens the map out and looks at it.<br>"Ayama, you're smart, surely you can spot it." Kiyoshi says, jumping onto the same branch as me and handing me the map. Okay, so I was wrong, none of us are smart enough to figure this out.  
>"We'll find it using instincts." I say. They both seem to agree on that. I roll the map up and slide it in my belt. "Lets go!" I say. Then we all jump off in a random direction. I really hope they're not following me, because I'm following them.<p>

2 hours later Kiyoshi pointed out something that pissed us all off. "I've seen that tree before." Kiyoshi says, stopping. Me and Ren stop.  
>"What do you mean!" Ren questions.<br>"I've seen it before! .. Or felt it." Kiyoshi says. He was right, this is the same tree he ran into. It even had the small dint. We all sigh of frustration.  
>"Don't tell me we just went in a circle." Ren grumbles.<br>"Seems we did." I sigh. I look up and jump to the top of that tree then look around. I get the map out and look at it, comparing it to the scenery.  
>"See anything?" Kiyoshi calls.<br>"This way!" Ren says, being the hasty person he is, he ran off in a random direction. I had hunch he was going the right way. I don't know why, I just did. Me and Kiyoshi struggled to catch up to him, he's incredibly fast and he gets faster everyday – I swear it.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

We lost sight of him. "Ren!" I call, but no response was heard.  
>"That bastard, leaving us behind like this.." Kiyoshi grumbles to himself, though I heard him.<br>"I know." I say, utterly agreeing with him.

It took us a while, but we did find him. He was leaning against a tree with his arms folded. "Why are you two so slow?" Ren asks as we jump down to him.  
>"Why are you so fast?" I ask. He shrugs.<br>"Touche." He says.  
>"Well lets keep going, we can't afford to stand around." I say. He nods and he jumps off again, this time, we were able to keep up with him.<br>"You sure look like you know where you're going." Kiyoshi says randomly. Ren starts laughing.  
>"I actually have no idea where I'm going." Ren says. We both frown.<p>

I decide to get the map out after a while. I stare at it for a few minutes. Ren had hit a tree and fallen over, and now I feared that I was gonna be next. But it's what he gets for going to fast and not watching where he's going.  
>"I got it!" I exclaim, noticing what seemed to be a small dirt clearing on the map. I point to it. "The shape of this clearing kind of looks like a mark." They both give me doubtful looks. I decide to ignore them and jump up onto the top of a tree and look around to figure out our current location. I'm not too good at this kind of thing, but I can surely figure it out. I look at the sun's position to figure out which way north is, then I actually figured it out. I felt so proud of myself. I jump back down to them.<br>"This way." I say, and beckon them with one big swing of my arm and start jumping away through the trees. They look at each other and shrug, then follow me.

I was right.. about the direction anyway. We ended up at a clearing which was fully dirt, no grass or anything. I look around. "Ayama, I really don't think- huh?" Kiyoshi stops and looks around. I could sense them too. I draw out a kunai. A squad of Amegakure ninjas jump up from the ground and try to attack us. However, we were just too good and ended up pinning them to the ground.  
>"Give us the scroll!" One of them demands. I punch him.<br>"We don't have the scroll!" I shout at him.  
>"Liars!" He says then gets up, attempting to kill me. Ren, kicked his face, sending him flying backwards. That is the second time in the last three days that Ren has protected me.. I throw my kunai at him, getting him in the chest. The other two flee.<br>"See, the scrolls must be around here if there was another squad here." I mention, making it look like I proved them wrong.  
>"Alright, so how are we gonna find them?" Kiyoshi asks. Ren just ran off.<br>"Come on, we can't stand around forever." Ren calls.  
>"Yes! We'll make this like a training session!" Kiyoshi says then runs off in another direction. I sigh. Such idiots. '<em>There is absolutely no way they ca-<em>'  
>"Here's one!" Ren calls. My attention snaps to him with full disbelief. But he had one. We jump over to him. I take it and unravel it. He was right, this is one of the 5 scrolls, which means we're one of the first squads here. I begin reading aloud quietly.<br>"Go to the east until you come across a lake. The water is black when the sun shines high, thus the gate will be opened and the final place will be revealed." I blink a few times. "A riddle?"  
>"East we go!" Ren says and runs off. I throw a rock at him. "Ow! What was that for?"<br>"East is this way baka." I say, pointing. He blinks.  
>"I knew that." He says then takes off. He sure is full of energy. Me and Kiyoshi follow. I get the map out and look at it.<br>"If we keep this speed up, then we should get to the lake here.. in about.." I look up to the sun. ".. about half an hour."  
>"What? That'll take forever." Kiyoshi complains.<br>"Then lets race." Ren says. Kiyoshi smiles.  
>"Yes!" Kiyoshi agrees. They both speed off ahead, leaving me behind.. again. I decide to be evil. I wait a few minutes then clap my hands together. I know this uses up a fair bit of chakra, but I simply refuse to be left behind. I close my eyes and picture Ren in my mind.<br>I swap places with him, and found myself just about to land on a branch, but because I wasn't expecting it, I slipped and hit my ankle on it and fell to the ground. Kiyoshi stops.  
>"That's the second time Re- huh? Ayama?" Kiyoshi questions. I jump up to my feet.<br>"What?" I ask, then jump up into the trees and continue going. Kiyoshi, being confused, hesitantly followed.  
>"You're not using the transformation technique on me are you?" Kiyoshi asks. I laugh, forgetting that Ren does that.<br>"No, it's really me." I say.  
>"Are you sure?" He asks. I look at him and give him a thumbs up. ".. Okay, I believe you." Ren never does thumbs up – apparently they scare him. I didn't actually realize I gave him one then I realized I smiled at the same time.. I'm turning into Guy.<br>"You know, if your hair was shinier and your eyes were a dark color and your teeth were sparkly white, you could pass as Guy." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Shut up." I grumble, I do <strong>not<strong> want to be compared to that weirdo.. even if he is kinda cool.. and awesome because he likes training.. and his teeth are white as.. and he's strong.. and a little cu- no. Just no.  
>Ren zoomed past us at top speed. I didn't even see him, I only felt the air current left behind by him passing by. I frown, he was only being slow before.<p>

We finally get to the lake that the scroll mentioned. I pull the scroll out and read it again. "Black water.. Sun shines high.." I mutter. I scratch my head and look at the water. It was the most beautiful blue color. I was so tempted to jump in and swim.  
>"Maybe the sun part means that the sun is high?" Kiyoshi suggests. I look at him like he's an idiot, then look up at the sun's position. It must be about 11:30am. Then it hit me.<br>"Yeah, you're right. When the sun shines at it's highest point, the water will turn black and stuff." I say.  
>"Highest point?" Ren asks.<br>"Midday, 12pm." I say. "We just have to wait around."

So we did. We sat around on the giant roots of the trees, waiting for that 30 minutes to pass, but when you have nothing to do, time goes by slowly.  
>"Your bruise is getting bigger." Ren says randomly. I look at my arm again, he is right.<br>"So?" I ask.  
>"Holy crap, how did I not notice that?" Kiyoshi questions, jumping up to his feet in shock. I laugh.<br>"You are really slow, you know that?" I say.  
>"Psh, you both are." Ren says. We both glare at him.<br>"Heh, yeah, says mister run into a tree." I scoff.  
>"At least I'm not the one who..." Ren pauses and looks down.<br>"Who what?" I ask.  
>"Nothing, don't worry." Ren says. Was he actually thinking about something before he said it? By the guilty look on his face, it may have been a good thing he didn't say it.<br>A moment of silence passed.  
>"Um, so, do you reckon there's anything to eat around here?" Kiyoshi asks. I was about to roll my eyes when my stomach growled. I just realized I haven't had breakfast. None of us have.<br>"Hm, do you think you could wait Kiyoshi?" I ask. He sighs.  
>"I suppo-"<br>"Hiyaaaa!" We all look up and see someone in the above trees. "Is this the place?" I recognize that voice.  
>"Yes, it seems to be." Replies a girl.<br>"Hm? Hey look, it's Ayama-chan." The first person says then jumps down to us. "Hi."  
>"Hello Guy." I reply. Kurenai and Ibiki jump down too.<br>"So what's going on here?" Kurenai asks.  
>"Well, we're waiting until the sun gets to the highest point, then the water should turn black or whatever." I explain. They all had a clueless look. "Hey, it's what we've come up with so far."<br>"Well I think it's a great theory!" Guy says. I sigh, I am kind of getting sick of his compliments, but at least he's nice to me. I caught Ibiki looking at me and like last time, he looks away immediately and bites his lip. I give a confused look but decide to ignore it. I stood up. Kurenai looks at her watch.  
>"Hm, well, it's almost 12 now." She says. Ren and Kiyoshi stand up. We all watch the water eagerly.<p>

Just as the sun got in position, the water suddenly went black. We all gasp.  
>"What'd I tell you!" I say.<br>"Hey! I thought of it first!" Kiyoshi exclaims.  
>"Yeah but.. I confirmed it!" I say. We all laugh.<br>"Oh Ayama, you're so typical." Ren says.  
>"That's a big bruise." Guy says.<br>"Well yeah, you should know, you're the one that made it." I say. He gets a guilty face.  
>"I apologize." He says. "Could I make it up to you by treating you out for dinner?" I look at him.<br>"Guy.." Kurenai sighs. Guy grabs my hand and kneels down on one knee – it was really freaky.  
>"So what do you say?" He asks.<br>"W-well.. I-" I was cut off by something bursting out of the black water. It looked like a sea serpent. Well whatever it was, it was building up electricity in it's mouth.  
>"Get back! It's going to attack!" Ibiki shouts, then we all jump back. The monster unleashes it's furious attack upon us. Kurenai steps forth.<br>"Kurenai! What're you doing!" Ibiki questions. The serpent attacks again, I wanted to jump out and save her, but I couldn't do that. The attack surprisingly went right through her like nothing happened.  
>"It's a genjutsu." She says. I felt like an idiot now. She looks at the serpent and makes a hand sign. "Release." Poof, everything disappeared like nothing even happened. "It was timed to go off at 12pm." She says.<br>"Nerd." I cough. She glares at me. "What?" She just sighs.  
>"Nothing." She groans.<br>"Congratulations." Says a random ninja that randomly appears, making us all jump, except for Ibiki – I reckon he saw it coming. "Huh? Only two squads?" He asks.  
>"Is there a problem?" I ask.<br>"No no, I just thought more squads would be here.. oh well, looks like this exam is going to go longer than I had hoped." He says.  
>"What do you mean?" I ask.<br>"Well this genjutsu only goes off once and that is at 12pm exactly." He says.  
>"So.. the other groups have to wait until 12pm tomorrow?" I ask.<br>"Precisely. You catch on fast." He says. I nod. '_Hehe, well duh._' Ren saw me having my little moment of glory from that compliment and punched my arm, making me glare at him. "Now, if you will," the Jonin says, stepping forward and holding his hand out. I blink a few times. "I will take you all back to the village."  
>"Aaaand how?" I ask. He frowns.<br>"Teleportation Jutsu." He says. Everyone rolls their eyes at me. I laugh nervously and scratch my arm.  
>"R-right.. I knew that.." I say. We all grab his arm and he teleports us back to the village gates with a poof. It was quite weird, but then again, it's not much different to my swapping technique.<p>

"Everyone! We have our first two squads!" The Jonin announces. All the senseis look, hoping to see their students. There were many disappointed faces.  
>"Good work team!" Calls who I believe to be Guy's sensei. Guy runs over to him.<br>"I did it sensei!" Guy exclaims, bouncing up and down.  
>"Yes, I see..." His sensei replies, rolling his eyes. Me, Ren and Kiyoshi run over to Chitori-sensei.<br>"Chitori-sensei! We did it!" Kiyoshi exclaims. She smiles at us.  
>"Yes, I see that." She says. "Good job, I'm proud of you all." She says that in a really shocked tone – it was like she wasn't expecting us to make it through so soon.<br>"Well what can you expect? We are _your_ students." Ren says. I roll my eyes. '_Suck up.' _Chitori-sensei scratches her chin and seems flattered.  
>"Well I guess that's true." She says.<br>"Yes it is! We learn from the best!" Kiyoshi says. I frown.  
>"Haha, yes thank you." She says, then looks at me. I raise an eyebrow, was she expecting me to compliment her? "Ayama?"<br>"What?" I ask. Ren hits me.  
>"Show Chitori-sensei some respect." He says.<br>"Why? She didn't do anything to help us just now." I say, then realized I shouldn't have said that. All three of them glare at me. "Ahhh, y-yes, Chitori-sensei you're awesome!" She rolls her eyes.  
>"Alright alright, lets go." She says.<br>"Where to?" I ask.  
>"Well, you guys deserve a treat for winning, and as your sensei it's my duty." She says. We all hi-five each other.<p>

Chitori-sensei takes us to Ichiraku Ramen. "Hey, this place has the best ramen ever!" I exclaim. Kiyoshi automatically agrees – but no matter what food it is, he'll agree.  
>"Really? I've never had ramen before." Chitori-sensei says. All our jaws drop. We drag her inside and sit her on one of the stools. I sit beside her, and Ren sits on the other side of her, and Kiyoshi sits next to Ren.<br>"You haven't!" We all question at once. Teuchi turns around. "Teuchi-san, one bowl of mis-"  
>"Chicke-"<br>"Beef Ramen!" I finish the sentence off. The three of us glare between each other. We all wanted Chitori-sensei to try a different ramen flavor. Chitori-sensei and Teuchi chuckle. "Beef ramen is the best!" I exclaim.  
>"No! Miso Ramen!" Kiyoshi retorts.<br>"Never! Chicken Ramen is the best!" Ren exclaims.  
>"Alright alright, calm down you three." She says.<br>"Why don't I whip up a combined bowl?" Teuchi suggests.  
>"You can do that?" Kiyoshi asks, seeming to be awed.<br>"Heh, sure thing lad." He says. Kiyoshi snaps his fingers.  
>"Then I'll have a mixed bowl!" He orders.<br>"Very well, and the rest of you?" Teuchi asks.  
>"Beef ramen!" I say.<br>"Chicken ramen!" Ren says. Chitori-sensei was still contemplating.  
>"Umm... I'll have a vegetable ramen." She says. We all look at her like she's an alien. '<em>Vegetable! What the hell is wrong with her!<em>'  
>"Sure thing." He says.<p>

So minutes later he prepared the ramen, with the help of Ayame – who is pretty young to be in the kitchen.. well that's my thought anyway. Kiyoshi started slurping the noodles very loudly, and the rest of us start eating.. like normal people.

Afterwards, we kindly remind Chitori-sensei that she was paying then run out on her. She wasn't too happy about it.  
>"So what should we do now?" I ask.<br>"Train!" Kiyoshi suggests.  
>"Relax." Ren says. I roll my eyes, for someone so energetic, he's also the laziest person I've ever met.<br>"Well, I wanna train, so Ren, you're on your own." I say. He seemed okay with that and went on his own way. Me and Kiyoshi head off to the training grounds – Guy was already there, and he seemed to be pestering Kakashi about something. I go up to them.  
>"Hey, Kakashi-san." I say. They both look at me and Kiyoshi.<br>"Ayama-chan! Congratulations on the smooth victory!" Guy says, giving me a thumbs up. I sweatdrop.  
>"Um, yeah.. thanks." I reply.<br>"Ayama.. you wanted something?" Kakashi mentions. I look at him.  
>"Yeah, I-"<br>"I will talk to you later about our challenge Kakashi!" Guy says, cutting me off and giving Kakashi a thumbs up. Kakashi sweatdrops.  
>"Y-yes.." He says, then Guy jumps (somersaults) away. "... You were saying?" Kakashi says, looking back at me. I shake my head, taking my attention away from Guy's awesome moves.<br>"Er yeah. I was wondering, I didn't see you in the first part of the Chuunin exams, aren't you participating?" I ask. He chuckles lightly and shakes his head.  
>"No, I'm not participating." He says.<br>"Oh, you don't feel ready?" I ask.  
>"No it's not that." He says.<br>"Oh?"  
>"I'm a Jonin." He says. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Kiyoshi seemed to have the same expression.<br>"A Jonin?" I question. He nods proudly.  
>"That's right." He says. "Well.. I have to get going." He says, then disappears.<br>"A JONIN!" Kiyoshi questions. I face him, returning his shocked expression.  
>"I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED!" I exclaim.<br>"Let us start training!" He says, raising a fist to the air. I do the same.  
>"Yes! We should try our hardest and become Jonin too!" I exclaim, then we start training.<p> 


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Three days passed and the second part of the exam was finally finished. I tell you, some squads are dumb. Not pointing any fingers or anything.  
>It was on the following day that the third part began. Final matches. We were led to a big building with an arena in it, and nearly the whole of Konoha were seated in the audience above watching, and those of us who 'passed' the second part were standing around in a small balcony built into the wall, talking.<br>"So who do you reckon I'm gonna get to beat up?" Kiyoshi asks.  
>"Kiyoshi, if I knew, I'd tell you." I reply. He laughs.<br>"Right.."  
>"Ayama." I hear. I turn to see Guy.<br>"Oh hello Guy." I say.  
>"I wanna wish you good luck." He says, giving me a thumbs up. I sweatdrop.<br>"Y-yes, thank you. You too." I reply. Kiyoshi and Ren smirk at each other, though I had no idea why.

"Attention." Says a Jonin, stepping into this room thing. We all turn and face him. "This is the last part of the Chuunin Exams. As has been said before, the third part is a fighting test. In this we will observe your strengths and weaknesses, and by your skill, and only your skill, we will determine whether you promote to Chuunin. We will be holding a tournament, and there will be only one winner, and obviously that person will have a very high chance of being promoted. As for everyone else, whether you win or lose, it does not matter. As long as you show good skills, then your chances will increase." He explains.  
>"So who will we be versing?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"Well, this screen behind me will choose a pair at random." He says.  
>"Oh great, random chances." Ren says, I couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.<br>"The first match will begin in approximately 10 minutes, so ready yourselves." He says then disappears.

"Hey did ya hear? The Kazekage has come to watch as well!" I heard someone say. I listen. "He came all this way to see how the Suna ninjas are progressing apparently." I get excited.  
>"This could be my chance to prove to the Kazekage how good I am, and maybe he'll respect me a bit more." I mutter to myself.<br>"What was that?" Ren asks.  
>"Nothing." I reply.<br>"Alright! Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, time to announce the first round." The proctor announces. The audience cheers. Us Genin go up to the railing and look out, there was another screen on the giant wall, almost identical to the one in this room. Both screens turn on and names start jumbling all over the screen really fast. I could feel the tension build up in the room. I was hoping to be first. But no;

Okasaka Ren vs. Morino Ibiki

I turn to Ren. "Good luck." I say. He nods then jumps over the railing.  
>"Go get 'em Ibiki!" Guy exclaims, giving him a thumbs up. Ibiki sweatdrops and jumps over the railings onto the arena.<br>This is gonna be a match of ultimate speed verses 'ultimate' intelligence.

Ren won by an inch. At the end of his match, he ran around, making Ibiki too dizzy to concentrate and he ended up passing out, soon after, Ren collapsed of exhaustion.  
>"Now it's time for the second match." The proctor says. We all stare at the screen again, and the tension in the room built up again.<p>

Yuhi Kurenai vs. Amegakure Ninja  
>Yuhi Kurenai – Winner<p>

Minami Kiyoshi vs. Konohagakure Ninja  
>Minami Kiyoshi – Winner<p>

A few matches later it finally came to my turn. There were six of us left who still haven't fought, and the sun was already starting to set.

Hatano Ayama vs. Maito Gai

I had two words. Oh great. I look at Guy, but he was already jumping over the railings full of determination. I had to laugh because it was so funny. I jump over and land in the arena as well.  
>"Ayama, may the best ninja win." Guy says as we get in our fighting stances.<br>"Yes, and no holding back, this time, we'll put our all into it." I say. He nods in agreement.  
>"Let the match begin!" The proctor says. The second he said that Guy disappeared from my sight, then I felt something hit my back with a powerful force, I turn around, seeing Guy. He is fast. Luckily for me, I'm used to training with Ren, and he's also fast. I jump back, out of range and grab my bamboo stick and swing it around.<br>"Bring it on." I say. He nods then jumps up very quickly.  
>"Dynamic Entry!" He says, then comes down at a fast speed, about to kick me again. I whack his leg with the stick, throwing his aim off, and allowing myself to avoid it. I bring my leg up and swing a kick at him, but he caught my ankle and held me there. "Gonna have to do better than that."<br>"I will, don't worry." I say. Geez, I've totally underestimated him. He goes for a punch, but I block it with my bamboo stick, however, something very unexpected happened. He smashed right through my bamboo and got my face, sending me flying backwards. I heard a few gasps from a few fellow Suna ninjas. I tumble as I hit the ground, but land on my feet. I am gonna have a nice bruise on my cheek now. I look at my bamboo which was near his foot, it was broken in half. Time to bring the big boys out. I get two of the puppet scrolls and summon Crow and Black Ant. "Prepare yourself!" I shout out to him. He seemed curious about these puppets – possibly wondering what they were.  
>"You play with dolls?" He asks. I get an anime vein. Ren and Kiyoshi cover their eyes, they know how offended I get.<br>"THEY'RE NOT DOLLS!" I shout, then send Crow plunging forward. Guy stood there clueless and tilts his head to the side, wondering what to do about this strange 'doll' coming at him, and how was it even moving? I get Crow's secret blade out from his wrist and go to stab Guy, but he jumps aside just in time. I swing Crow's arm, managing to slice Guy's arm slightly. He's lucky that's not the blade with the poison in it. What surprised me, was that he didn't even wince.  
>"Interesting.." He mutters to himself, then begins running at me. I couldn't catch him with Crow, so I use Black Ant for defence.<p>

"Dynamic Entry!" He says, then goes to kick me again. I know that move is incredibly powerful so I jump to the side, out of the way. I make Black Ant slice his arm and leg because he moved too slow. Guy came at me again, but I managed to trap him inside of Black Ant. At any other time, this is when I would've killed my opponent, but I'm not gonna kill Guy – he's too cool.  
>"Let me out!" Guy calls, banging on the wood of Black Ant.<br>"No!" I call back. The proctor was watching closely.  
>"Please!"<br>"No!"  
>".. Pretty pl-"<br>"No!"  
>"In that case, considering he cannot get out, Hatano Ayama is the winner." The proctor says. I smiles and let him out. I put Crow and Black Ant back in their scrolls and hold a hand out to help Guy up. He takes it and I pull him up to his feet.<br>"That was a good match." I say. He nods and gives me a thumbs up.  
>"I second that!" He says, not letting go of my hand. I sweatdrop. "You put up a good fight!"<br>"Yeah, you two." I say, then get slightly depressed.  
>"Is something wrong?" He asks. Man he's quick to notice these things.<br>"No, nothing." I reply then walk over to my bamboo stick. I pick the two pieces up then jump back into the platform, where I was greeted by two bear hugs. I frown.  
>"You did an awesome job!" Ren says.<br>"Better than awesome!" Kiyoshi says. They both hug me tighter.  
>"Ugh, get off.. bakas." I growl. They do so. Guy comes up behind me.<br>"Eh, I apologize about that." He says.  
>"Nah it's fine. I can fix it..." I say, but then realize it might be slightly harder than I thought. I felt a little sad though, I mean, after all, this was pretty important to me.<p>

After that finished, which was about midnight, we were on our way home. We had been waiting around for Chitori-sensei to get us, but she never showed up, so we decided to find our own way back – we didn't know our way around.  
>"I swear we've passed that building before." Kiyoshi says.<br>"Well if your memory is so good, why don't you remember the way back to the hotel?" Ren asks. We now didn't mind admitting when we were lost to each other, because it's normal for us now...  
>"Because Konoha looks so different at night." Kiyoshi says.<br>"... aaand that makes it completely different does it?" I ask.  
>"Shut up." Kiyoshi grumbles.<br>"Yeah, shut up." Ren says. I fold my arms.  
>"Very funny." I say.<br>"Yes, yes it is." Ren says. I stare at him for a moment. "... What?"  
>"Nothing.. weirdo." I say. He laughs.<br>"Stop stop stop." Kiyoshi says, very quickly. We all stop and look at him. He was looking around, pointing to each building and muttering something about each one.  
>"Remember anything?" Ren asks.<br>"Shh." Kiyoshi hisses without looking at him. We remain quiet. "We're going the wrong way." We sigh. "Back this way." Kiyoshi says then turns around and starts walking the way we have just come. Me and Ren look at each other and sigh before following Kiyoshi.  
>"Are you certain?" Ren asks. Kiyoshi never answered, so I'm guess that was a 'no'.<p>

Once we got to the end of that street Kiyoshi stops. "Now..." He says. Me and Ren look at him. Kiyoshi looks at the two ways ahead. "We came that way." He says, pointing to the right. "I completely missed this turn off here, so we go this way." He proclaims and starts marching down the left path. Me and Ren shrug before following him.

In the end, turns out Kiyoshi's random ranting and going in random directions (which was what he was actually doing) lead us straight to the hotel.  
>"Hey you actually did something! Good job." Ren says. Kiyoshi glares at him and I hit Ren.<br>"Come on, baka." I say, talking to Ren particularly. They follow me inside and we go into our room and receive a little shock.

"Chitori-sensei, what're you doing?" Kiyoshi asks. Chitori-sensei looks up from her sack then looks at us.  
>"It's about time you three got here." She says. We all frown.<br>"We were waiting for you." Ren mentions then climbs up the ladder and onto his bed.  
>"Well I was thinking you three would be smart enough to find your own way back." She says, then fixes her eyepatch up. I couldn't help but notice the slightest red tint under her visible eye. Had she been crying? I know it's none of my business, but I was curious.<br>"Chitori-sensei?" I ask. She looks at me.  
>"Yes?" She asks.<br>"Is everything okay?" I ask.  
>"Yes of course, why? Is something wrong?" She asks. I tilt my head to the side, I must be imagining things.<br>"No no, I was just wondering." I say, then look at her almost fully packed sack. "Are we leaving tomorrow?"  
>"Hm? Oh, no you three are staying here an extra day, then going home with the other Suna ninjas on the following day." She explains.<br>"What do you mean by 'us three'?" Kiyoshi asks. She turns around and puts the last few things in her sack then sits it on the floor and sits on her bed.  
>"Well, I'm leaving soon." She says.<br>"How come?" Ren asks.  
>"I've been called back for a mission." She says. We all pout. Though, I don't know why, something just seemed... odd? "So, I'm gonna say goodbye to the three of you.." She says. We all nod. "Ren."<br>"Ya?" He replies. She turns around and points to the ground in front of her. Ren rolls his eyes and jumps down off his bed and stands where indicated.  
>"You're the fastest ninja I've ever seen. I want you to become even faster, become known as the fastest ninja in the world, okay?" She says with a slight chuckle at the end. He raises an eyebrow.<br>"Uhh, okay?" He replies. She turns to me.  
>"Ayama, you're the most skilled little ninja I've ever seen." She says. I frown. Little.. was she mocking me about my height? "I wonder if you will even become Kazekage one day."<br>"Kazekage? Eh, I don't think so." I say.  
>"Oh don't be so modest." She says. Then she faces Kiyoshi. "And as for you Kiyoshi, you're the most dedicated and food-loving boy I've ever met. I want you to become well known as well."<br>"Yes!" He replies with a salute.  
>"Good." She replies with a nod. I step to the side to allow her past. "Goodbye."<br>"See ya." Ren says then jumps back on his bed, Kiyoshi gets on his. I stood there staring at the open door. '_Why did she say all that?_'

"Something's up.." Ren says. I look up from my pillow, utterly exhausted, and cursing to myself because they wont shut up.  
>"What?" I groan.<br>"I dunno, just the way Chitori-sensei said those things before she left. It's like she's going on a really long mission or something." He says. That was exactly what I was thinking.  
>"I reckon it's because she believes that we're going to become Chuunin, and as a Chuunin we don't have senseis, so perhaps because she'll be away on this 'mission' she said goodbye early." Kiyoshi says.<br>"That is a good point." I say, and roll over.  
>"Yeah, I guess I didn't think of that." Ren says.<br>"Good night." I gush and close my eyes. They get the hint and go to sleep. Though I would've been better off saying good morning because it's about 3 am already.

I still couldn't help but think there was something wrong. Actually, I know there's something wrong, I just don't know what.

**To be continued..**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

We wake up about 11am and feel too lazy to even get up. We lay in our beds staring at the roof, well, I was staring at the bottom of Kiyoshi's bed, but still, same thing right?  
>"So.. are we gonna get up at all?" Ren asks, breaking the everlasting silence.<br>"I dunno." I reply.  
>"I'm not moving." Kiyoshi says.<br>"Well then, that answers that." I chuckle. There was a knock on the door. None of us say or do anything. The knock became repetitive and louder. We all groan.  
>"I'm not getting up." We all groan on unison. Then we all sigh. The knock was becoming more and more irritant by the second.<br>"FINE I'LL GET UP! YOU'RE BOTH LAZY ASSES!" Kiyoshi shouts then jumps off his bed and opens the door. "Hello?" He says like nothing even happened. I sweatdrop.  
>"Hello, I was wondering if Ayama-chan was here." The person asks.<br>"Aya-"  
>"Why me?" I cry then sit up. Ren chuckles to himself.<br>"Wanna come in?" Kiyoshi asks, stepping aside.  
>"Don't mind if I do." The person says. The second I glimpsed at the green clothing that walked through the door I mentally kick the wall. "Ayama-chan! Still in bed at this hour?" Guy asks. I groan and lay back down.<br>"What of it?" I ask.  
>"Well you should be out training. We must make the most of our youth!" He says. I don't respond. "Ayama?"<br>"What?" I groan, sounding pissed off.  
>"Er.. are you feeling okay? You're not sick are you?" He panics.<br>"No! I'm just.. having a lazy day." I say. He seems to have a heart attack.  
>"WHAT DO YOU MEAN A LAZY DAY!" He questions. That loud voice really pissed me off.<br>"I MEAN I'M SPENDING THE DAY IN BED! GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT!" I shout back. He seems to quieten down after that. Did I really just snap at him. Oh well. He'll get over it, surely. Just then I yawned loudly, and that seemed to break any tension, and of course, yawns are contagious, I made all of them yawn afterwards. "So yeah, I'm stayin' in bed until I could be bothered getting up." I say in a tone like nothing even happened.  
>"... I see." Guy says, scratching his temple.<br>"You're welcome to join us, we've got a spare bed." I say, lazily pointing to Chitori-sensei's bed.  
>"I would love to, but no thank you. I must train." He replies.<br>"Suit yourself." I say.  
>"Very well. Enjoy your... lazy day." Guy says then leaves. Kiyoshi was tempted to slam the door shut but didn't then he went into the bathroom and got in the shower – I could hear the pipes.<br>"How long do you reckon he'll be in there for this time?" Ren asks.  
>"I don't care." I say.<br>"... Fair enough."  
>"But he better save some hot water for me." I say. "I'm having a shower next. I don't plan on staying in bed <em>all<em> day."

20 minutes later Kiyoshi decided to come out of the shower. He walks out with a towel around his waist and his hair dripping wet. I walks up to my bed, then shakes his head, making the water fly off in every direction and mostly wetting me. I had no particular reaction.  
>"I thought you were going for a shower." Ren mentions.<br>"Yeah, no hurry." I say, putting my hands behind my head. Kiyoshi put his suitcase on the end of my bed then went to drop his towel. By that second I was gone, in the bathroom with the door locked. I heard them laughing form the other side. That's just disgusting, does he _want_ me to see him naked? I shiver at the thought then undress and get into the.. cold shower.

When I got out, I regretted rushing in there. I would've grabbed my clothes and brought them in here, but now I'm going to have to go out there, in these small towels, just to get my sack which my clothes were in. I wrap the towel around me. It covered my breasts alright, even though they weren't really that big... yet. Then the towel stopped midway down my thighs. I've never felt so exposed.  
>I open the door, and walk out like nothing is wrong. Kiyoshi was only half dressed, walking around in some shorts and nothing else. I crouch down and reach under my bed to find my sack, I wasn't gonna bend over too much because they'd see my butt, damn short towels.<br>"Well this is interesting." Kiyoshi says, sitting on my bed, looking at me. I get an anime vein once I knew what he was doing. I found my sack, grabbed the strap, pulled it out then swung it in the air, whacking his face. "OW!"  
>"DON'T BE A FUCKING PERVERT!" I shout then go into the bathroom again and lock the door. He was trying to look down the towel because my breasts were slightly exposed. Baka.<p>

I get dressed into some dark grey knee-length shorts and a red t-shirt. Once I decide to join the pervert and his lazy friend, I put the sack back under my bed and glare at Kiyoshi who seemed to have a nosebleed, I raise an eyebrow, ready to hit him again.  
>"Wait, you nearly broke my nose, that's why it's bleeding! It's not becau-" I cut Kiyoshi off my slapping him.<br>"Liar." I growl then leave, I don't want to be around him right now.

I figured I'd explore the village a bit, see if I find any interesting places I can go to without having to go everywhere with the boys. They dragged me into many shops the other day, none interested me, not even slightly, all I wanted was to go to a puppetry shop or something.  
>I look around, there are a lot of different restaurants, flower shops, and many shops for things I've never even seen before.. however, I did not fine one puppetry shop. Not one.<br>I ended up at a small restaurant where the dango was pretty good.  
>"Another three orders here!" Shouts a girl on the table across from mine. She's got purple hair and light brown eyes. She looks young. I couldn't help but see how quickly she eats the dango.. she must love them.<br>"Anko! Just because it's your 10th birthday, doesn't mean you get to make me go bankrupt!" Scowls a man beside her, probably her father. I sigh quietly to myself. If only I had a family.  
>"But dad!" She complains in a naggy voice.<br>"No!"

I stand up and leave the shop. I could handle hearing the word father, dad or any of that. It reminds me of that dream I had a long time ago.  
>I walk around with my head hanging low and my hands in my pockets.<br>"Hey is your name Ayama by any chance?" I hear. I look up and see a dude with short spiky black hair and a cigar in his mouth, now that disgusted me.  
>"Um.. yes, why do you ask?"<br>"Oh, nice to meet ya." He says, holding a hand out. I blink a few times, looking at his hand. "Eh, I'm Sarutobi Asuma, I versed your friend in the Chuunin Exams a few years ago." I squint my eyes at him.  
>"I've heard that name before.." I say, trying to think.<br>"Oh, so he did tell you about me. Baki was quite a formidable opponent. Heh, he told me all about you." He says.  
>"He... what?" I ask, becoming a little shocked. He chuckles.<br>"Yeah, he said that you are practically the best person he's ever met, and he admires you a lot and... I wasn't.. supposed to say that.." He says, trailing off at the end. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"Admires?" I ask. "What do you mean by that?"<br>"Eh, well, that's just what he said, you'll have to ask him about it, I didn't really know what way he meant." He says. I nod slowly.  
>"I see.." Suddenly this moment just grew awkward.<br>"Uh, well it was nice meeting you." He says, putting his hand back in his pocket. I nod.  
>"Yeah.."<br>"Well, take care." He says then walks around me. I blink a few times before continuing to walk, yet another thing on my mind. I sigh, I need somewhere to relax, somewhere to empty my mind.

Finally, the next day came, we were up early, packing our stuff up.  
>"You know," I say, zipping my sack up. "you two could at least make your beds before we go."<br>"Nah, that's the cleaner's job." Ren says, zipping his sack up and throwing it over his shoulder.  
>"Yeah, he's right." Kiyoshi says in a tone like he's struggling. We both look at him, he was laying on his suitcase, trying to zip it up. Me and Ren sweatdrop. "Could I get a little help?" I roll my eyes.<br>"Get off." I say, pointing my thumb away from it. He gets off and I tackle it, jump on it, and then sit down on it. "Now try." Both their faces were like O.O "Now would be good."  
>Kiyoshi shakes his head to come back into reality and tries zipping it up. "Nnnngh, I can't get it."<br>"Ren, come help." I say, then he comes over and sits on it too. Kiyoshi kept trying.  
>"Alllllllmost, push down a little harder." Kiyoshi says. Me and Ren lay on it. "Nnnngh, got it." We all take a sigh of relief then get up.<br>"I still don't understand why you had to bring so much stuff, you didn't even use most of it." I say.  
>"It's because I don't know how to work those storage scrolls!" He finally admits.<br>"Ohh, so now you say it." I say. He folds his arms.  
>"Shut up." He groans. Me and Ren laugh.<br>"Well, lets get going." I say.  
>"Yeah, Ayama, you might want to put a jacket or something on before we go." Ren says. I look down at my light grey trackies and black t-shirt.<br>"Why?" I ask.  
>"Because it'll get cold." Ren says. I blink a few times.<br>"What's your point?" I ask. He sighs.  
>"Nothing, lets go."<p>

"Fuck, you were right Ren, it is cold out here." I say as we walk outside. He rolls his eyes. At 5am in Konoha, it's very cold. I rub my hands up and down my arms to try and warm up a bit. You could see your breaths clearly in this cold.  
>"You're gonna get sick." Ren says.<br>"No I wont." I proclaim.  
>"Yeah, you will, then you wont be able to train." Ren says.<br>"Eh, then I'll study." I say. They both gasp. "I know! I said the 's' word!" They frown after that.  
>"Look, there's everyone." Kiyoshi points out.<p>

Four very long days later we reach the village. Never before has that arch up ahead looked quite so lovable. Me and Kiyoshi decide to have a race to see who could get there first. Ren, being the half lazy-ass he is, decided to stay behind with the rest of the ninjas.

If Kiyoshi didn't have such a big bag he would've won. It was pretty close, but of course I won. Though, we didn't stop once we got to the other end of the village, no, we kept running, we wanted to get home.  
>"I'M HOOOOOOOOME!" I shout, about to burst in through the door of Baki's house. However, my coordination failed me and I tripped on the front step, and headbutted the door. A few seconds later the door opened and I fall face first to the ground.<br>"AYAMA! YOU'RE BACK!" Baki exclaims. I jump up to my feet.  
>"YES I AM!" I yell back. We give each other the biggest reunion hug ever. "And I'm gonna go to bed."<br>"What? But you just got home." He says, letting me go. I droop over to the couch, throw my sack to the ground and plop lazily on the couch. Baki laughs at me.  
>"You look tired."<br>"I am indeed." I say and close my eyes.  
>"So.. you're just going to fall asleep there?" He asks.<br>"Yeah, might as well." I say. He sits on the arm rest of the couch.  
>"You gonna tell me about your trip?" He asks. I sit up.<br>"Oh yeah!" I say, we both laugh. "Well, it started off with a written exam, then we had to go find these scrolls in the forest, and we got lost, but we were one of the first groups to pass along with another squad, then we had sparring matches and I versed this weird guy named Guy, and he wears this weird green spandex suit, and his eyebrows are the biggest you've ever seen, but his teeth are like really white, so he's cool.. I kicked his ass though, and yeah."  
>"Wow, that was pretty summed up." He says. I nod.<br>"You need to learn to sum things up better too, you spent hours telling me about your Chuunin Exams." I say. He laughs nervously.  
>"Yeah, I know."<br>"Oh yeah, I met that Pasuba guy too." I say.  
>"What?"<br>"Pasuba, the guy you versed during your match."  
>"Oh, <em>Asuma<em>."  
>"Yeah, that's the one!" I say.<br>"Pasuba.." He laughs and shakes his head.  
>"Shut up." I grumble, folding my arms.<p>

The next morning I got up early, yet again, and went down stairs to cook breakfast. Don't worry I have gotten better at my cooking, I took a class at the academy last year learning how to cook, it lasted about 3 weeks, 6 hours everyday, so I'm pretty confident that I wont put the house at risk of burning down like that one time...  
>I start preparing some pancakes, because I was craving them badly. As soon as I fire the stove up and pour the liquid in, Baki come out rubbing his eyes.<br>"Are you always this noisy?" he groans. I laugh, he must've gotten used to things being very quiet without having me around.  
>"Yes I am, you should know that by now, I mean, how long have we lived together?" I laugh. He groans and sits at the table and spreads his arms out across it and rests his forehead against it. "Why? Where you enjoying the quiet while I was gone?" I ask.<br>"Yes I was actually." He says. I give him an offended expression, but I was actually laughing in my head. He looks at me then sits up straight and waves his arms around defensively.  
>"I-I didn't mean it like that!" I exclaims, freaking out. I couldn't hold back my laughter, his expression was just priceless. "... You were being sarcastic, weren't you?"<br>"Hehe, yup." I say then giggle. I could already tell how much he was loving having me back in the house. "Breakfast?"  
>"Oh, yes please!" He says, seeming to be in a completely different mood then before. He sits up straight, smiling bigger than ever. Yeah, he's glad to have me back.<p> 


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

After breakfast me and Baki receive a letter. Well, more or less, I did. Baki came in with it and handed it to me.  
>"What's this?" I ask.<br>"It's for you." He says. I become slightly confused, but then open it. I read through the letter inside.  
>"Oh my gosh!" I exclaim.<br>"What?" Baki asks.  
>"I made Chuunin!" I exclaim.<br>"Really! That's great!" He says. We give each other a hug. "Now I have to take you out for lunch to celebrate."  
>"Oh, well you don't have to. But.. if you are offering.." I say then smile. He laughs.<br>"Of course, lets go." He says, escorting me outside.  
>"Wait, I just had breakfast. I'm not hungry for lunch just yet." I say.<br>"I know I know, but there's nothing wrong with a walk is there?" He says. I swear, he confuses me sometimes.

"Hey look, isn't that Kazuya-sensei and Chitori-sensei?" Baki asks, squinting his eyes at two people kissing. We stand there dumbfounded watching Chitori-sensei and Kazuya-sensei kiss. We couldn't decide whether it was romantic, disgusting or just plain awkward. I think it was a mixture of all. Then something hit me. I thought Chitori-sensei said she was going away on a mission.. what's this all about? I wait until they finish their kiss before approaching them.  
>"Um, Chitori-sensei?" I ask. She seems to jump slightly.<br>"Ayama.." She says, her visible eye was unbelievable. It was watery and her face was covered in tears. She has been crying non-stop. She wipes her eye and sniffles.  
>"What's going on? I thought you had a mission." I say. She shakes her head.<br>"Ayama... I'm dying." She says. I gasp.  
>"Wh-what do you mean!" I question, feeling like I had just been stabbed by something.<br>"I'm poisoned Ayama. I have been since the war.. I only found out a few weeks ago. I've been slowly dying. My time is almost up." She explains. I shake my head, my own eyes getting watery.  
>"No.. no Chitori-sensei! Why didn't you tell us!" I question. "You can't die!"<br>"It's.. part of life Ayama. Not everyone lives forever.." She says. I could feel myself becoming an emotional wreck. Baki seemed upset too.  
>"But... Chitori-sensei.." I whine in a sobbing voice. A tear fell. It ran down my cheek, past my chin, and fell to the ground. "You.. said you were going on a mission... were you going to pretend to have died on that mission?"<br>"Yes.. that's right.." She admits. I felt angry and really upset at the same time.  
>"How could you?" I question. Another tear leaks from her eye.<br>"It's because I didn't want to see you cry over me!" She says. I shake my head.  
>"OF COURSE WE'D CRY! YOU'RE OUR SENSEI!" I shout.<br>"Ayama... please.." She says, wanting me to calm down. I bite my tongue, yelling at her wasn't going to change anything.

After an hour of trying to calm everyone down, Chitori-sensei slowly and painfully apologized for not telling us when she first found out.  
>"You know, Ren and Kiyoshi are going to be really upset.." I mention.<br>"Yeah.. I know." She says.  
>"Um.. how long.. do you have?" I ask.<br>"... Tomorrow." She says. I gasp.  
>"So soon?" I question. "Isn't there a cure or anything?"<br>"I got a shot yesterday, but they said it's too late.." She says. I stand up, walk over to her, and give her a hug. I am really going to miss her.  
>"Chitori-sensei..." I say while sniffling. She strokes my hair.<br>"It's alright Ayama... I don't want you to grieve over me.. alright? Stay that happy person you are." She says. I nod.  
>"Okay..." I say.<p>

I wasn't allowed to tell Ren or Kiyoshi.. which kind of made me feel guilty. The day passed by rather quickly, quicker than I had hoped. Before I knew it, it was bed time.  
>Not that I slept much though, I laid awake staring at the ceiling most of the night, thinking over all the good times me and my squad has had with Chitori-sensei.<p>

The next morning I was called to the Kazekage's office. I look around for Karura, but she wasn't there. Yashamaru was though, and he was holding something in his arms, whatever it was, it was wrapped up in a blanket. I also notice Ren in there too.  
>"Good morning Kazekage-sama." I say, walking beside Ren. I noticed he seemed more happier than usual.<br>"Yes, good morning. You two, I have a mi-" The Kazekage was cut off by a moan. Our attention turns to Yashamaru. He was smiling at the thing in his arms. The thing that made the noise.  
>"It seems Temari-sama has awoken sir." Yashamaru says.<br>"Temari?" I ask. Yashamaru nods. I just realized he was holding a baby.  
>"Yes, my daughter." The Kazekage says.<br>"You're daughter? Wow, she has a lovely name sir." I say. He smiles and nods.  
>"Thank you." He says. "She has just turned one quite recently."<br>"Oh, I see, I never even knew you had a daughter." I say.  
>"Yes, I'm going to wait until she's at least 4 before I announce to the village." He says.<br>"Oh I see. So um, where's Karura-sama?" I ask. He chuckles and I raise an eyebrow.  
>"She's in hospital, she's going into labour soon." Yashamaru explains.<br>"Oh, so you are going to have two children sir?" I ask, facing the Kazekage again. He seemed proud as he nods.  
>"I'm hoping for a son this time, someone to take my place as Kazekage when I retire." He says.<br>"Oh, nice." I say.  
>"Would you like to see Temari-sama?" Yashamaru asks.<br>"Oh! Yes please." I say. He walks over, and shows us. Her eyes were open, her eyes are a really dark green color, and her hair is a very light brown, she'll probably be blond in the future.  
>"Wow, she's beautiful." I say.<br>"Thank you." The Kazekage says. "Now, as I was saying befor-" Temari-sama reached up and grabbed a bit of my hair and refused to let go. I held back a groan of pain and just wince slightly, she seemed to find that amusing because she laughed, which made us all laugh.  
>"Yes Kazekage-sama?" I say, still having my hair being pulled.<br>"Haha, yes, I have a mission for you two." The Kazekage chuckles.  
>"And what is this mission sir?" Ren asks, seeming as peppy as ever.<br>"Give me a chance to explain. Your mission is this, search and destroy." He says.  
>"Pardon?" Ren says.<br>"There has been a squad of who knows how many ninjas circling the outside of Suna, looking for a secret entrance. But we know there is only one way in, one way out. So, I want you two to find and destroy these intruders." He explains.  
>"Oh, I get it. So are we killing them?" Ren asks.<br>"Yes, Ren, that's what destroy means." I say. He rolls his eyes. "Well, we'll get going then."  
>"Yes, good luck on your first mission as Chuunins." The Kazekage says.<br>"You're a Chuunin too Ren?" I ask.  
>"Yeah, so is Kiyoshi." He says.<br>"Awesome." I say, then go to start walking, but nearly had a lock of hair ripped clean out of my head. "Owww." Temari-sama giggled.  
>"Oookay Temari-sama, time to let Ayama go now, okay?" Yashamaru says. Temari-sama made a pouty face. "Come on, be a good girl." Yashamaru got one of his hands out from under her and tickled her belly, making her laugh and lose her grip. I smile at her laugh, it was so cute. "Right, there we go, good luck Ayama, Ren."<br>"Thanks Yashamaru-sama." I say, then the two of us leave.

"Wasn't she cute?" I say, smiling.  
>"Yeah, sure was." Ren replies.<br>"I wonder if Karura-sama has a boy.." I say.  
>"Yeah, and I wonder what his name will be." Ren says.<br>"I wonder what the Kazekage's name is.. I don't think I've actually heard it before." I say, then laugh. Ren laughs. "That probably sounded really stupid."  
>"Yeah, ridiculously stupid." He says. I had to admit, he was right.<p>

Once we get to the arch I remember about Chitori-sensei.. How I might never see her again once I walk though this arch.  
>"Something wrong?" Ren asks.<br>"Huh? Oh.. no nothing. I'm fine." I lie. I felt guilty about lying. But I didn't want to go against Chitori-sensei's request. Her.. final request. I sigh. "Lets go."  
>"You seem troubled, what's the matter?"<br>"It's nothing." I lie again.  
>"No, I know that look, you're trying to bottle something up. Tell me what's wrong." He says. I was shocked, how could he see right through me? I have to come up with some sort of lie..<br>"It's just kinda strange you know, going on a mission without Chitori-sensei." I say.  
>"It's not like it's the first time." He says. "Remember during the war? We went on so many missions without her it's not funny.. so why are you worrying about this now?"<br>"I dunno.. I guess it's just been so long you know?" I say. He seems to comprehend what I'm trying to say, and stays quiet. It's going to be a long day.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

After our mission of killing the three Kirigakure ninjas that were trying to get into the village, we head back to report to the Kazekage and I also was excited wondering about Karura-sama's second baby, but I was also depressed thinking about Chitori-sensei. My head hanged low as we walk through the Kazekage's building. Ren noticed.  
>"What's wrong? And don't lie to me." Ren says. I can't tell him, as much as I want to.<br>"I.. I'll tell you later." I say in a low voice. He nods. This way it will give me time to think of something. I straighten myself up as we get to the Kazekage's office door. Ren knocks and the Kazekage calls out to us to enter.  
>We both enter smiling as usual. "Back already?"<br>"Yes, they didn't really put up much of a fight." Ren answers.  
>"And what village were they from?" The Kazekage asks, grabbing a sheet of paper and begins writing on it. Ren explains the details and the Kazekage writes it all down.<p>

"So, Kazekage-sama, how is Karura-sama?" I ask. He looks up and smiles.  
>"She's doing fine. We have a son, his name is Kankuro." He replies. I smile.<br>"That is a lovely name sir." I say.  
>"Thank you." He replies.<br>"So is Kankuro-sama going to be the next Kazekage?" I ask.  
>"More than likely." He says. I also noticed Yashamaru-sama wasn't here either, he must be with Karura-sama.<br>"Well then, I wish you all a good and healthy future Kazekage-sama." I say. With a smile and a nod, he dismissed us.

As me and Ren silently walk down the street together, I couldn't get Chitori-sensei out of my head. I managed to hold back tears from my watery eyes, but I couldn't hide the fact I was sad, no matter how low my head hung.  
>".. Ayama.."<br>"What?" I ask, trying not to sound upset. Once Ren put his hand on my shoulder, that was it. I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. Two fell from either eye and I sniffle. Seeing this upset Ren, then he did the unexpected, he throws his arms around me and pulls me close to him. My immediate reaction was to cry on his shoulder, but I was a little too shocked to do that. He never said a word, just held me close. Eventually my feelings took over and I buried my head in his shoulder, crying. I must've seemed so pathetic to be crying. After all, a shinobi must abandon all emotions.

After I settled down a little, Ren began stroking my hair softly, I knew he was only doing that because he wanted to comfort me as a friend. Ren breathes in then goes to speak when I heard a familiar voice say my name. It's Baki.  
>"Ayama? Wh-what's wrong?" He asks. Slowly, I lift my head, and Ren reluctantly loosened his grip on me. As I stand up straight, I wipe my eyes dry and return my breathing to normal. I felt a little better, perhaps sometimes crying does make you feel better. "It's <em>her, <em>isn't it?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Who?" Ren asks, concerned. Ignoring him, Baki gives me a hug.<br>"It'll be alright." Baki says, resting his head against mine. If he was trying to get me to cry on him too then forget it.  
>"I know." I manage to say without provoking my lament from taking over.<br>"What's going on?" Ren asks, desperately wanting to know. I can't tell him, but I want to. I was gonna tell him, sorry Chitori-sensei, but I have to. I back out of Baki's hug and face Ren. I open my mouth to speak when yet again, I hear my name be called.  
>"Ayama-senpai!" '<em>Senpai?<em>' I turn around to the direction of the voice to see three people running over to me. It took me a few seconds to recognize them. It actually made me smile.  
>"Well well, if it isn't you three. Kujirako-san, Daibuta-san and Chikari-san." I say, smiling a little more, noticing their Suna headbands. Kujirako's fringe had grown longer, down to the tip of his nose, Daibuta had gotten a little.. rounder, and Chikari seemed to have a little more confidence.<br>"Heh, guess what?" Kujirako asks.  
>"You're all Genin now?" I ask. They nod in sync, which was a little creepy.<br>"Isn't it great Ayama-senpai?" Daibuta asks in a cheery tone. I tilt my head to the side.  
>"Why are you calling me senpai? It's not like I've trained you or anything." I ask.<br>"Well you graduated way before us, so therefore you are like our.. uhh.." Daibuta stopped to think. Chikari and Kujirako stare at him, waiting for him to continue. "Like a mentor I guess."  
>"Oh, I see.." I mutter, not really getting it.<br>"Well, now we're all Genin, so I guess we're level." Kujirako says. I smile.  
>"Not quite." I say, making the three look at me.<br>"What do you mean?" Daibuta asks.  
>"Well, you're looking at three Chuunin." I say. Their jaws dropped.<br>"CHUUNIN!" Daibuta and Kujirako question loudly. Chikari wasn't the loud type, so she just stood there with her mouth open.  
>"Well, yeah." I say, laughing a little.<br>"How is it that little Ayama keeps getting stronger?" Kujirako asks, staring at me with disbelief. Now I felt offended. I fold my arms.  
>"Little?" I huff.<br>"Well, you are the youngest here." Kujirako mentions. I sweatdrop.  
>"D-don't worry about it Ayama-chan.. I g-get it all the time." Chikari says, since last time there was less stuttering in her voice. I laugh at her comment.<br>"Must be a girl thing." I say. She smiles and nods.  
>"Wait a sec, Chikari, when did you say your birthday was?" Kujirako asks, facing her. Chikari showed a slight offended expression, I guess that's how much they pay attention to their teammates.<br>"March 22nd." Chikari replies. I raise an eyebrow.  
>"Seriously?" I ask, making them all look at me. "March 22nd is my birthday too!" They all look at me, utterly astounded. Chikari smiles.<br>"Well well, looks like we have little twins." Kujirako says mockingly.  
>"Hey," I say, putting my arm around Chikari's shoulders, freaking her out a little. But i'm glad we're basically the same height. "just because we're both the same age doesn't give you the right to tease us in that way. Remember, you tease my twin here, and I'll whoop your asses." Chikari smiles at me.<br>"Whoop our asses?" Kujirako laughs. Now he asked for it. I grab the bamboo stick attached to my back. He stopped laughing, and freaked out a little.  
>"That's what I thought." I say, lowering my hand. "Chikari-san, we need to hang out more." She nods.<br>"Yeah."

"Oh, so the whole class graduated did they?" I ask. They nod.  
>"That's what I just said." Daibuta says.<br>"Interesting."  
>"You might wanna look out too though, there are some Genin out to get you Ayama-chan." Kujirako says. I raise an eyebrow.<br>"Like who?" I ask.  
>"Oh a coupl- no, nearly every kunoichi." He says.<br>"Why?" I ask.  
>"Because you totally mocked Saburo-kun that day." Kujirako says.<br>"Saburo?... OHH Saburo!" I remember him, the chick magnet. "Yeah, I remember now, good ol' _Saburo-kun._" We all laugh.  
>"I think he'll be out to get you as well, so just be warned." Daibuta says. I nod.<br>"Right, thank for telling me." I say. "But not that they'd stand a chance anyway."  
>"Heh, you got that right, you should see Ayama now! You thought she was tough that day when we sparred against her.. you should see her now." Ren says. I still remember that afternoon, I kicked their asses. I felt flattered.<br>"Hey, you guys wanna come over for dinner?" I ask.  
>"Ayama, you know you can't cook." Baki says, frowning. I frown back.<br>"I cook for you every morning." I mention.  
>"Yeah, and it's always pancakes." He says. I had no comeback for that. Everyone laughs.<br>"Shut up! Just because I never got taught how to cook properly." I gush.  
>"So she was gonna kill us with her cooking! How evil." Daibuta says. I glare at him.<br>"The only way you would've died-"  
>"Would've been if she made the stove explode." Baki says, ending my sentence. Oh how I hate when everyone is against me.<br>"I'm sure it's not Ayama-chan's fault." Chikari says. I was a little surprised at this, no one ever takes my side. I blink a few times. "B-besides, I can cook."  
>"You'd cook?" I ask. She nods. I have a feeling me and Chikari are really going to get along.<p>

That night we basically had a mini party at Baki's house, yes Chikari cooked so it was all good. But man, when I say cook, I mean _cook_, she made us like a feast, it's pretty much the best food I've tasted.  
>One thing really got to me though, why was it, that so many good things were happening on a day that is supposed to be sad and depressing – Chitori-sensei.<p> 


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

"Did you just say train?" Kiyoshi asks. Immediately Daibuta regretted mentioning that word. I smirk, just waiting for Kiyoshi to jump up and challenge him. Seeing people's reactions to Kiyoshi's challenges is quite funny. I noticed Ren also smirking. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A SPAR!" Kiyoshi exclaims, pointing at Daibuta sitting innocently on the couch. Daibuta sweatdrops.  
>"You had better just accept it Daibuta-san, otherwise you'll never hear the end of it." Ren says.<br>"But Kiyoshi-san is way stronger than I am!" Daibuta complains.  
>"Exactly.." Kiyoshi drawls out. Kujirako laughs from the kitchen. Seems he was keeping Chikari company while she prepared a few plates. Could there be something going on between those two? I wonder...<p>

I thought I'd be annoying and go 'accompany' them. "So what are you two up to?" I ask, walking through the doorway into the kitchen. I notice them both preparing dishes, they were like a perfect couple. I smile at the pair.  
>"We're preparing dessert." Chikari answers with a cheery tone, she seemed to be really enjoying herself.<br>"Dessert? Really?" I ask, becoming excited. Kujirako nods.  
>"I'm pretty sure that's what she said." He says. We laugh.<br>"Your cooking is really good Chikari-san." I say.  
>"Thank you Ayama-san." She replies.<br>"I like to think I'm pretty good too." Kujirako says. I cock an eyebrow.  
>"Oh yes?" I say. He nods.<br>"Here, taste this." He says, handing me a small bite size chocolate ball. It looks very appetizing. I take it and put it in my mouth, then I bit down on it and I tried not to screw my face up. The bitter taste was too harsh, I have no idea what it is that he put in there but man it was gross. I wanted to spit it out, but that would be really mean. I tried to put up the straightest face I could while I slowly chewed it, and it felt like heaven when I managed to swallow it. "Well? How was it?"  
>".. Uhh.. y-yes," I stopped talking to choke.<br>"Ayama-chan?" Kujirako asks. My eyes grew watery from choking so violently.  
>"Hey! You're not trying to kill Ayama in there are you?" Ren calls from the living room.<br>"Uh, no!" Kujirako calls back.  
>"Ayama-chan, drink this." Chikari says, handing me a glass of water. I take it and quickly skull it down. Now that disgusting taste was out of my mouth, I felt loads better.<br>"Um, it's.. alright." I lie.  
>"Nah, I know it was crap, even my mom says so." Kujirako says.<br>"THEN WHY DID YOU MAKE ME EAT IT?" I question. He raises his hands and shakes them defensively.  
>"I-I thought maybe someone else would have a different opinion on them!" He exclaims, half freaking out.<br>"Oh..."  
>"Um.. Kujirako-kun, perhaps you should try something different other than caramel and pepper.." Chikari says. My eyes widen, then I start gagging. Pepper and caramel are the two things I absolutely hate!<br>"A-Ayama-chan! Are you okay!" Kujirako questions, becoming more freaked out than before. I manage to nod and walk over to the sink where I refill my glass and skull it down again.  
>"I uh, I hate pepper and caramel." I say. Kujirako probably felt really guilty now.<br>"Errr... I'm really sorry." He says.  
>"Nah it's fine. You didn't know." I say.<br>"You sure?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Yeah. Come on, lets go serve these desserts!" I say, grabbing the plate containing a nice raspberry flavored jelly.<br>"Er, be careful with that." Kujirako says.  
>"Psh, what? You think I'm gonna drop thi- wooahh." It starts wobbling on the plate, making us all bite our lips. I got it to stop. "See? Perfectly fine." I say, mentally wiping the sweat from my forehead.<p>

It took two seconds after walking through the doorway back into the living room for them to notice. "Food!" Kiyoshi exclaims, running over to me, making me almost lose my footing from trying to balance the damn jelly.  
>"Watch it!" I gush, trying not to drop it. Kiyoshi stops just before he got to me, however, unfortunately, with my sudden movement, trying to dodge him, the jelly lifts off the plate, landing straight in Kiyoshi's face. I couldn't help but laugh along with everyone else.<br>"Kiyoshi you're so clumsy." Ren blurts out while in a fit of laughter. Kiyoshi stood there motionless as small chunks of the jelly fell from his face and hit the floor.  
>"... Oh cheer up." I say, poking his stomach, making him jump. I raise an eyebrow. "Oh, is someone ticklish?"<br>"N-no! Go away!" Kiyoshi shouts, wiping the jelly from his face, and going to take off. However, I was too quick, and grabbed his shirt, pulling him back towards me. "NO!" He screams. I laugh more, thoroughly enjoying myself.  
>"I'll hold him down!" Ren says, jumping up off the couch.<br>"NO!" Kiyoshi helplessly pleads. I pin him to the ground.  
>"Ren! Get him!" I say. Kiyoshi's eyes go wide and he starts thrashing around.<br>"NO NO NO!"  
>"YES YES YES!" Ren shouts back, and kneels down and cracks his fingers. The horrified look on Kiyoshi's face was unbelievable. Just as Ren was about to tickle Kiyoshi's stomach, the front door burst open, capturing everyone's attention.<br>"KIYOSHI!" Shouts the woman who just invited herself in. We all blink a few times. Man she was fat. Once she saw us she snarls and stomps her way over. "What are you doing to my little baby?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at me and Ren, pinning him to the ground.  
>"Nothing." Ren says. Kiyoshi's fringe covered his eyes from embarrassment.<br>"You're not hurtin- they're not hurting you are they bub?" Asks the woman.  
>"No mom.." Kiyoshi says. Both me and Ren's eyes widened. <em>This<em> is _Kiyoshi's_ mom!

"Good, NOW GET YOUR ASS HOME BEFORE I KICK IT THERE!" She demands, pointing to the door. I let Kiyoshi go, and he jumps up and scurries out like a frightened pup. Though, I wouldn't blame him.. ".. As for the rest of you, have a good evening." She says in a happy tone then leaves. All of us were left speechless.

After everyone went home, which was about 11pm, me and Baki went to bed, preparing for today. I get up early, 6am, take a shower, get dressed etc.  
>I cook myself some toast and take it with me while I walk down the streets. The empty, dark, cool breezed streets of Sunagakure. I eat my toast as I walk, and I was overcome with nostalgia for Chitori-sensei.<br>"Not good enough!" I hear from the distance.  
>"It's not my fault! It's too dark, I can't see properly!"<br>"That's no excuse!"  
>I could recognize them to be Kiyoshi and Ren (Ren being the one complaining). Without much care, I continue walking, staring at the ground, recalling many fun times with Chitori-sensei..<br>"Ayama-chan, you seem quite down, is everything alright?" I hear. I look up from the ground to the old woman in front of me.  
>"Hm? Oh, Chiyo-san. No, I'm fine." I say. She tilts her head to the side.<br>"Then why are you crying? No one cries for no reason Ayama." She says. I bring my hand up to my face, she was right, I was leaking tears and I didn't even realize it. I wipe my face with my arm, drying it. "And why are you up so early?"  
>"Well.. I usually get up at this hour Chiyo-san." I say. She looks at me for a few minutes, thinking. My eyes wonder back to the ground.<br>"Come with me." She says, putting all her shopping bags in one hand rather than two, and putting her free hand on my back, guiding me to walk beside her.  
>"Allow me Chiyo-san." I say, taking the bags from her.<br>"Why thank you dear." She says.  
>"It's no problem." I say.<p>

At her house, I tell her all about Chitori-sensei without emotionally breaking down like I did to Ren. In order to cheer me up, he offered to help build me a new puppet, which would make it my fourth puppet. How could I resist?  
>"Ayama-chan, this puppet is gonna be bigger than any of your other puppets." Chiyo informs me.<br>"Bigger? How big?" I ask.  
>"Well, how would you like to have a puppet you could control while riding it?" She asks, smirking.<br>"R.. riding it? Really? You can do that?" I ask. She nods.  
>"I've done it once or twice back in my day, ohh but my body is a little too out of shape for that much excitement." She explains. I had to admit, I was very interested. "Ohh, wouldn't it be amazing if I could teach you to control four puppets at once, while riding this one?"<br>"Wow, that would be awesome as!" I exclaim. She smiles.  
>"I thought you might find it interesting." She says, then goes rummaging through some old puppet parts that Sasori-kun left behind.<p>

As the weeks passed by, together, Lady Chiyo and I completed my new puppet. A giant scorpion. I named it Daisasori. Now I really felt prepared for anything. Chiyo taught me to ride on Daisasori while controlling it, and she was right, it's the funnest thing in the world – once you get the hang of it. Just wait until Baki sees this one!


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

On a late night, I run back to Baki's house, burst through the door and saw him eating by himself in the kitchen. His head was hanging low, maybe he was upset?  
>Cautiously, I approach him. "Baki? You alright?" I ask. No response was heard. I poke his shoulder. "Baki."<br>"HUH?" He shouts, jumping up from his seat. I blink a few times. "Oh, it's just you Ayama." He says, then sighs of relief.  
>"Are.. you feeling alright?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.<br>"Yeah yeah, I'm perfectly fine." He says, laughing. He rubs his eyes. "Guess I almost fell asleep just now." He says.  
>"Oh, is that all? I thought you were upset or something." I say. Though, his smile was sincere, so I knew he was fine.<br>"Really? Do I look sad when I'm half asleep?" He asks. I shrug.  
>"Hey! Baki! Come check this out!" I say, startling him with my loud voice.<br>"Uhh, what?" He asks as I pull on his sleeve.

I lead him outside. "Okay okay, I made a new puppet, so close your eyes." I say. His suspicion of the rolled out scroll on the ground vanished.  
>"Okay." He says, closing his eyes. I smirk, this is really gonna scare him. A few hand signs later I summon Daisasori from the scroll and stand on top of it.<br>"Check this out!" I say. He jumps as soon as he sees it.  
>"Th-that's huge!" He exclaims, eyes wide. "How long have you been working on this one?" He asks, walking up to it.<br>"Couple of weeks." I say.  
>"Oh, so that's why you haven't been home much lately." He says. "So what do you call this one?"<br>"Daisasori." I say.  
>"Interesting. So you can ride on it too? That's awesome." He says.<br>"Jump on." I say. He nods and stands behind me. "Oh, you might wanna hang on."  
>"Wha- GAH!" I make Daisasori start running really fast, Baki grabbed on to me just in time too. I laugh. "Geez, I gotta remember that you like to take off." He chuckles. I nod, smiling to myself.<br>"Yeah, you do." I snigger.  
>"This is quite fun!" He says. I nod. "Can you go faster?"<br>"I could possibly try and make it fly." I say.  
>"Ooh, now that sounds fun." He says.<br>"But I ain't gonna." I say.  
>"Why not?"<br>"... Don't laugh."  
>"Okay, I promise."<br>"I'm scared of heights." I sheepishly admit. He held back a chuckle, which made me frown. "Don't laugh."  
>"I'm not." He says, making a gagging sound to hold back his laughter.<br>"Baki." I groan.  
>"S-sorry it's just.. you don't normally find a ninja who is scared of heigh- hahaha."<br>"Baki, I'm gonna push you off in a minute." I growl. However, he seemed like he couldn't control his laughter. I'm going to make him pay for laughing at my fears. "Hey look, a giant lake! We're gonna drown!"  
>"What!" He questions. I start laughing. "Oh very funny."<br>"Yeah, I thought it was, because we both know there are no lakes in the desert." I laugh. He frowns.  
>"You're so mean."<br>"Look who's talking."  
>"Alright alright. I'm sorry." He says.<br>"Thank you."

After a long night of riding on Daisasori around the village, I was ready to fall asleep.  
>"Ayama, why don't you- Ayama? Oh geez, asleep already." Baki sighs. He picks me up, jumps down then puts Daisasori in his scroll then carries me back to his house on his back.<p>

The next morning I woke up in my bed. Baki was gone, probably on another mission or something. I head out to look for something to do.  
>"Hey! Ayama!" I hear, I turn around, then discover I'm face to face with Ren. "Wooah."<br>"Slow down dammit. You're gonna knock me over one day." I say.  
>"Sorry, uh, hey um.. I was uh, wondering if you um wanted to-"<br>"Geez, slow down, I can't understand you when you talk that fast." I say, cutting him off. "Now what were you going to say?"  
>"Uhh..."<br>"... Ren?"  
>"Um.. no never mind, I gotta get going!" He says then within a blink of the eye he bolts away. I blink a few times.<br>"Well that was weird." I mutter, then continue walking.  
>"Get back there and ask her properly!" I hear Kiyoshi grumble. I stop, yet again, and turn around, seeing Kiyoshi pushing Ren back to me.<br>"But I can't do it!" Ren retorts.  
>"It's one bloody night!" Kiyoshi gushes.<br>"But I-"  
>"Woah woah, hold on, what's going on?" I ask. Ren gulps and steps in front of me.<br>"Don't worry Ren, I've got your back if she says no." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Say no to what?" I ask.<br>"Er.." Ren was hesitant.  
>"Go on." Kiyoshi says, pushing him forward, making him lose his footing and landing on me. I push him off and stand him up properly.<br>"What's with you today?" I ask. His face turns bright red. "... Ren?" I wave my hand in front of his face. "Ren.." I drawl out. It was like he was frozen in shock or something. I look at Kiyoshi.  
>"REN!" He shouts, whacking him over the back of the head, snapping him out of his frozen state.<br>"Huh?"  
>"Geez Ren, you're really out of it today eh?" I say, then laugh. He blinks a few times.<br>"I.. I can't do it Kiyoshi." He says.  
>"It's only one question, why is it so hard?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"What's going on!" I question. They both look at me. Ren's face became even redder.  
>"I uh.. I... I.."<br>"You what?" I ask. He closes his eyes.  
>"." He says. I blink.<br>"Can you say that again? In english?" I ask, not getting a single word out of what he just said. He takes a deep breath, then looks me in the eyes. It freaked me out just a tad. Then he held my hand, really freaking me out. "... What.. are you doing?" I ask.  
>"Um.. I was wondering if.. you wanted to go on a date with me.. tonight.." He says. I raise my head, becoming serious.<br>"I swear, if this is another prank I'm gonna rip your eyeballs out." I grumble, taking my hand back. Ren's eyes turned to the ground. ".. You're serious?" I ask in a more gentle tone. He nods. "Oh I'm sorry.. Um, really? Sure thing." I say. He looks up smiling slightly.  
>"Um.. so.. I'll.. pick you up at 6?" He asks. I nod.<br>"Sure."  
>"See? Was that so hard?" Kiyoshi asks, nudging him.<br>"Stop being mean, baka." I grumble. Kiyoshi just laughs.  
>"Hey, at least I have confidence to ask." He says. I raise an eyebrow.<br>"Oh yes? But you're not the one asking are you?" I ask.  
>"Yeah? Challenging me are you?" He asks, looking around. He then sees one of our old classmates walking by, she is wearing a Chuunin Jacket too. Kiyoshi smirks then goes over to her. Me and Ren eagerly watch. "Hi there," Kiyoshi says, smiling charmingly at the girl. She stops and faces him. "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me tonight?" The girl blinks.<br>"How about go fuck yourself Kiyoshi." She gushes then stomps off ahead. Me and Ren crack up laughing. Kiyoshi turns and points to us.  
>"I'll get a date! Just you watch!" He exclaims then jumps away full of determination.<br>"Um.. thanks for doing this Ayama." Ren says, facing me again.  
>"You don't have to be so nervous around me Ren, we're best buds after all." I mention, nudging him. "Heh, I guess you're right." He says. "I just wasn't sure how you would react, you know." He says. I nod.<br>"Yeah, it's okay."

Later that day Ren went to do something 'important' so he left me to my thoughts as I wonder the streets looking for something to do. '_I wonder how long he's felt that way.._'  
>"Hey Ayama." Kiyoshi says, jumping down in front of me, forcing me to stop walking.<br>"What's up?" I ask.  
>"I got a girl." He proudly exclaims.<br>"That's nice." I say, sidestepping around him and continuing to walk.  
>"What? No surprised reaction?" He asks.<br>"Nope." I reply, shoving my hands back in my pockets and walking slightly faster.  
>"Oh.. well Chitori-sensei said it was surprising." He says, folding his arms.<br>"Yeah ye- what?" I stop and turn around, facing him. "Chitori-sensei?"  
>"Yeah..? I spoke to her like a few minutes ago to tell her." He says. My eyes widen.<br>"I.. Impossible.."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

"What do you mean you _spoke_ to her!" I question, grabbing the collar of Kiyoshi's shirt and bringing us face to face. Kiyoshi began freaking out.  
>"I-I spoke to her!" He says.<br>"But how!" I question. He blinks a few times.  
>"Have you seriously lost it?" He asks.<br>"Show me where she is!" I demand.  
>"Uhh-"<br>"Now!" I order.  
>"OKAY!" He shouts then removes my tight grip on his shirt. "Follow me."<p>

I run, following Kiyoshi as he ran down the street, possibly eager to get away from his 'insane' former teammate.  
>"Here, right here." Kiyoshi says, stopping at the front of the Jonin's Lounge (pub).<br>"Why.. are we here?" I ask.  
>"Because this is where Chitori-sensei was." Kiyoshi says slowly.<br>"Then.. what were you doing here?" I ask. He doesn't say anything.  
>"You know, for starters, you have to be at least 18 before you can go in there, and second you have to be Jonin anyway! How the heck did you get in!" I question.<br>"... Not telling." He says.  
>"You used the Transformation Technique, didn't you?" I ask. His eyes widen.<br>"How did you know!" He questions.  
>"Aha! So you did!" I say. He frowns. I love wild guessing like that.<br>"This isn't a place for Chuunin to be lurking." Kazuya-sensei says, walking up to us. We look at him.  
>"Er, say, Kazuya-sensei? Can you get Chitori-sensei for us?" I ask.<br>"Chitori-san? She's in here?" He asks. Kiyoshi nods and I shrug. "Alright then I'll go get her for you." He says, then goes inside.  
>"So how come you are so freaked out about me talking to Chitori-sensei?" Kiyoshi asks.<br>"No reason.." I reply. He blinks.  
>"With that reaction? No way, there had to be something." He says.<br>"It's nothing!" I exclaim. Just then to door opened and there she was, eye patch and all. "CHITORI-SENSEI!" I shout then hug her tightly.  
>"Ayamaaa! I've been lo-hic... looooking for you!" She says. I look up at her.<br>"You're drunk?" I ask. She laughs.  
>"Nooo, don't be sil-hic.. silly!" She says. I blink.<br>"You're.. drunk." I say. She laughs again, more hysterically this time.  
>"You're so funnnnny." She drawls out. "Ooooh did youuu know Ki-hic.. Ki-hic.. Kiyoshi hasss a girlfriend?" She asks, looking at Kiyoshi. I sweatdrop. "I wass soooo not expecting that!"<br>"... Well it's nice to see you.. lively." I say, trying not to give that particular hint to Kiyoshi.  
>"Livelyy? Yeahh! I amm aren't I? Ahaha!" She laughs.<br>"I think you've had too much, come on, you're going home." I say, grabbing her wrist.  
>"Noooo." She cries dramatically. Both me and Kiyoshi sweatdrop.<br>"Yess." Kazuya-sensei says, walking out. "Come on Chitori-san, we're going home."  
>"But I dun wanna." Chitori-sensei says, pouting with puppy dog eyes. Kazuya-sensei laughs and shakes head head.<br>"Yeah, come on, before you end up doing something you'll regret." Kazuya-sensei says, crouching down. Chitori-sensei stands up and climbs on his back. Kazuya-sensei stands up, carrying her. "Well, I'll see you two around." He says, then jumps away with Chitori-sensei hiccuping.

"Ooh, so _that's_ why you were so stunned." Kiyoshi says after I tell him the truth.  
>"Yeah.."<br>"Wow, so then, that's why she said those goodbye messages to us before we left Konoha." He says. "I can't believe she wouldn't have told us."  
>"Well, you know hoe she hates seeing people cry." I mention. Kiyoshi snaps his fingers.<br>"True true." He says. "Ooh hey Ayama-chan, wanna come training?"  
>"Why?" I ask. He then gave me that look as if I had just committed murder. "Er, I mean, I'm busy."<br>"Ayama!" He shouts, I wince a little at the loud voice. "You used to be cool!" He complains.  
>"I used to have a lot of spare time Kiyoshi, and now with Chiyo-san and Baki-kun, and everything else, I've had a lot less time on my hands, and now tonight.. with Ren." I mention. He smirks.<br>"Oooh that's right, goin' on a date with Ren-kun." He sneers, nudging my arm. I smirk back.  
>"You're just jealous." I say. His face loses all it's color.<br>"YUCK! NO WAY! Eugh! Could you say such a thing!" He questions. I crack up laughing.  
>"Ren-kun isn't that bad.. sometimes." I say.<br>"Sometimes? Ayama, you've known him longer than anyone, he's a real pain the ass." He says.  
>"Yeah yeah, I'm doing this because I consider him a friend." I say.<br>"Fair enough." He says.  
>"Well, I ought to get going." I say. He sighs. "And what about you? Aren't you supposed to be getting ready soon too?" I mention.<br>"For what?" He asks. I frown.  
>"Some <em>gentleman<em> you are." I say, rolling my eyes and turning around.  
>"Ohh! That! Yes! I must go get ready! I'll see you around Ayama-chan!" He says then takes off. I roll my eyes again and start walking.<p>

That evening after changing into something formal I head downstairs and into the kitchen. "Baki, have you seen my brush?" I ask.  
>"No." He replies, not taking his attention off the toast he was buttering.<br>"Oh, weird.. I had it this morning.." I mutter.  
>"I'm sure it will turn up.. wait, what do you need a brush for at this hour?" He asks, then turns his head to face me. "Hey! What's with all that?"<br>"What?" I ask. He points to my black Kimono with a clover pattern that I'm wearing.

[pic]

"That!" He says.  
>"Oh, I'm going out tonight." I say. He raises his visible eyebrow. "Yeah.. I got a date."<br>"Oh.." He says, then turns his attention back to his toast and continues buttering it. "... well.. have fun." He says. I tilt my head to the side.  
>"Are you okay?" I ask.<br>"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine.." He says, then walks past me with the toast in his mouth. I stood there awkwardly for a second then resume looking for my brush.

I found it in the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom, and I put my hair up in a nice neat bun, and my fringe sitting nicely on my forehead. I am all ready to go.  
>"Ayama!" Baki calls.<br>"What?" I ask, poking my head around the corner. I see Ren standing at the door. "Oh, Ren!"  
>"Hi, are you ready?" Ren asks.<br>"Yeah, I sure am." I reply, then run over to him.  
>"... Have fun." Baki says, fake smiling – I can tell his real smile from a fake one any day – then he goes upstairs. I watch him, wondering if he is okay. Then Ren scared me by taking my hand in his.<br>"Well then, lets go." He says. I look at him, he was trying his hardest not to blush. I could just tell.  
>"Yeah.. Ren?"<br>"Hm?"  
>"What's with the blanket?" I ask, noticing a blanket folded in half over his arm. He smiles.<br>"You'll see." He says. I tilt my head to the side in confusion, but he pulls me outside, so I just go along with him.

First he took me to a small restaurant, I was expecting that we are going to eat in there..  
>"Yeah, take away please." Ren says. I raise an eyebrow.<br>"Take away?" I ask. He nods. The girl behind the counter put everything in bags then hands them to Ren.  
>"Need a hand?" I ask, going to take a bag from him, knowing it was too much for him.<br>"Nope!" He says, stepping backwards to prevent me from grabbing one. He then somehow gets his wallet out and pays for it, then leads me outside.

"So, where are we going?" I ask.  
>"You'll see." He says. I frown.<br>"Geez.. Oh yeah, I gotta tell you something too." I say.  
>"Hm?"<p>

"Oh.. so that's why you were pretty upset the other day." Ren says.  
>"Yeah.. so then when Kiyoshi-kun said he spoke to Chitori-sensei I was freaked out." I say, then laugh. He smiles.<br>"Well, so then that shot she took, it must've worked." He suggests.  
>"Yeah, it must have."<br>"Well anyway, here we are." He says, stopping. I finally look away from him and look around at the scenery. Wherever we were, it was a beautiful place, he lead me someplace high, like a big hill or something, and the sunset was stunning. I was infatuated with the view. "You like it?" He asks, noticing my smile.  
>"Yeah, a lot." I say. Ren lays the blanket down. I help spread it out, after all, his hands were full with our food. We sit down on the blanket and Ren gives me a small box containing some plain miso noodles. I grab the small container of boiling water and pour it in my box then grab a few toppings to put on it.<br>"Here." Ren says, handing me some chopsticks.  
>"Thanks." I say, taking them. I wait a few minutes for my noodles to cook. I stare back out at the horizon, the sunset truly is beautiful from this place. "So how did you know about this place?" I ask.<br>"Oh, my dad said he took my mom here on their first date." He says, chuckling. I laugh.  
>"Family tradition eh?" I say, we both laugh.<br>"You could say that."  
>"So Ren, how long, you know..?"<br>"Oh.. well.. heh, this might sounds stupid, but since the moment I met you." He says. My eyes widen slightly and I look at him.  
>"That long?" I ask, astounded.<br>"Yeah," he says, smiling. He looks into my eyes. "the first time I saw you, that's when I got a crush on you." He shyly admits. My eyes soften. "That's why I asked you to sit next to me that day, I wanted to be your friend, well.. you know."  
>"Yeah.." I reply, still smiling. "You know, you're pretty good at hiding it. I never would've guessed that you would like me." I chuckle. He scratches his head. His orange eyes were at contrast with the sunset right now. I could hear the noodles starting to boil, that caught my attention. I open the box, letting the steam out, then snap my chopsticks and pick up a bit and blow on it. Ren did the same.<br>As we ate, we reminisced over our childhood together, recalling many great memories of our academy years.

As the sun was just about to disappear we lay there looking at the stars beginning to come out. I was thinking about random things to prevent myself from falling asleep, because that happens if I lay down for too long. Especially if it's as quiet as this, and the only noise is the wind blowing around, but that's nothing new, it's always blowing here.  
>"Ayama, are you tired?" Ren asks, looking at me. I open my eyes and look at him.<br>"No." I say. He smiles.  
>"You look tired." He says.<br>"I usually do when I lay down too long." I say.  
>"In other words you've had a big day?" He asks.<br>"Nah, not really." I say, then turn my sight to the stars, beginning to shine brightly. I couldn't tell if Ren was still looking at me or at the sky.  
>"Oh, I heard Kiyoshi got a girlfriend, is that true?" He asks.<br>"Apparently. I didn't see who he was going out with, but I reckon he made it up just to get attention." I say.  
>"Sounds like him." Ren says, chuckling. I laugh a little.<br>"Yeah it does." I agree, putting both hands behind my head, getting comfortable. Ren then randomly rolls over beside me, capturing my attention. He puts an arm over me. I raise an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"  
>"I want a hug." He says. I laugh and sit up, he does too with his arms open and smiling like an idiot – in my opinion. I lean over and hug him, he hugs right back.<p>

Eventually we broke the hug because I just happened to yawn, and he stubbornly said I was tired.. But I'm not. "Ren, I'm not tired." I say.  
>"Yeah. Sure." He drawls out, smiling to himself. I laugh and roll my eyes. "What if you get a mission tomorrow? I wouldn't want to be the cause of you being tired."<br>"I wouldn't actually blame you because it was my decision to come." I mention, trying to sound smart. He blinks a few times, trying to think of a come back.  
>"Okay, good point." He says, piling up all the rubbish from our dinner. I yawn again. "Yeah, you're tired."<br>"Noo." I drawl out, pouting. He laughs.  
>"Come on, I'll walk you home." He says, putting all the rubbish in one bag. I sigh and stand up.<br>"Fine." I say. He folds the blanket in half and hangs it over his arm then puts his other arm around my shoulders.  
>"You even look tired." He says.<br>"Oh leave me alone." I say. He laughs, picking up the rubbish bag, then we start walking.

As we get back to the main part of the village, Ren finds a bin and puts the rubbish bag in it, then we head to Baki's house.

"I had a great night." I say as we get to the door.  
>"Yeah, me too." He says, scratching the back of his head, smiling. He then puts a hand on my shoulder and pecks my cheek, making me blush. That was very unexpected. I tried to get it under control before he looks back at me, I think I managed to. I smile to cover up any traces of it.<br>"Well, good night Ren." I say, walking up the front steps.  
>"Good night Ayama." He says. I go inside, get changed and lay down in bed, basically falling asleep straight away, maybe Ren was right, I <em>am<em> tired.

"_Hideka! I never knew you were pregnant."  
>"Oh, yeah, well this is Ayama, she's my daughter. Er, her father died on a mission so I'm taking care of her myself."<br>"Oh, and you seem all packed up, are you moving?"  
>"Yeah, I'm moving to Sunagakure."<br>"Oh have fun. We'll miss you."  
>"Yeah, same here. This village is a really great place."<br>"Then why not stay? Have you got family in Suna?"  
>".. Yeah, and since Shou's now gone, I want to have some support raising my child."<br>"Oh, fair enough, well, have a safe trip Hideka-san."  
>"You too, Tadashi-kun."<em>

My eyes snap open and I sit up, panting a little. I could see it.. Hideka's face, it was like she was holding me, in her arms, everything else was slightly blurry, but I could recognize the background too. Trees.  
>"Have a nightmare?" I hear. I look up expecting to see Baki, but when I saw a cloaked figure, hidden my the darkness, my eyes widen. He lunges at me with a kunai, I had no time to react, and it drove straight through my stomach. It stung like hell and I let out a loud cry of pain. "Shame, I'll kill you now."<br>"Who... are you?" I ask in a whimper. His mouth came up to my ear and whispers something incoherent, I was in too much pain to be able to put the words together. But then it became clear.

**To Be Continued..**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

"_Tadashi, Hideka's ex husband.._"

My eyes widen from the shock. I push him away with a kick to his gut, and pull the kunai out from my stomach, which really hurt, I then manage to stand up, holding my stomach. I grip the kunai tightly in my hand, I notice Baki wasn't in his bed.  
>"Get out." I order. He gets up on his feet, pulling another kunai out.<br>"You killed Hideka, didn't you!" He questions. I shake my head in disbelief.  
>"Me? What the hell? I was locked up in my fucking room the night she was assassinated!" I shout.<br>"Ayama! What's going on?" Baki calls as I hear his footsteps coming up the hall. Tadashi looks at the partially open door. Baki bursts through it two seconds later, a concerned look on his face. I didn't take my eyes off Tadashi, nor his Konoha headband on his head with a strike through it.  
>Baki sees Tadashi and glares at him. "Who are you!"<br>"What do you mean you were locked in your room! Hideka isn't that kind of person!" Tadashi growls, ignoring Baki.  
>"Hideka?" Baki asks, knowing he's heard that name before.<br>"Then you obviously don't know her as well as you think!" I exclaim.  
>"I've known her longer than you ever have!"<br>"Then you ought to know I'm not her child!" I growl. He tilts his head.  
>"Not hers? She said you were!" He says.<br>"Well I'm not! She.. she kidnapped me!" I exclaim.  
>"How do you have any proof of that?" He questions.<br>"I.. she said she was my step mom! And besides that, we had nothing in common! I have black hair, she was blonde! I have green eyes, hers were dark blue!" I exclaim.  
>"And your father?" He asks, folding his arms.<br>"How the hell should I know! I've never seen him before!" I exclaim. He glares at me.  
>"Of course not, he was killed on a mission." He says.<br>"Or was I?" I hear. We all gasp and look at the open window, someone was crouched down on the window sill, he had an ANBU mask on, apart from that I could barely see him.  
>"Who are you!" Tadashi questions, stealing the words out of Baki's mouth as he was about to speak. The ANBU steps in through the window, standing there with a kunai in his hand.<br>"Tadashi." The ANBU says.  
>"You're not Tadashi! I'm Tadashi!" Tadashi snaps.<br>"Don't take that tone with m-" The ANBU stops as he sees me. I couldn't really tell what he was looking at though. "Spitting image.." He mutters.  
>"Don't ignore me!" Tadashi growls then goes to strike the ANBU with his kunai. The ANBU then suddenly moves his mask to the side, revealing an eye but I couldn't see it, however, Tadashi froze on the spot. I tilt my head to the side. Was it Genjutsu?<p>

Me and Baki stood there, not knowing what to do, why were there two random people in our bedroom fighting? Why were they both Leaf ninja? Why us?  
>Suddenly Tadashi feel over, like he was paralysed or something. We then stare at the ANBU.<br>"Who are you?" Baki asks. The ANBU moves his mask back in place then picks Tadashi up over his shoulder.  
>"Just someone capturing a runaway nin." He says. "... Sorry to bother you both." With that, he turns and walks to the window.<br>"Wait." I say, stepping forward. He stops.  
>"What?" He asks.<br>"Tell me who you are!" I demand.  
>"An ANBU cannot reveal his identity, surely you would know that right?" He says.<br>"No, but, before, when you entered, and that guy was talking about my father dying on a mission. You said 'or did _I'_.." I mention. The man stays silent.  
>"You must have misheard me." He says.<br>"No, my hearing is quite sharp. I heard you correctly, stop lying, who are you?" I question, holding my stomach would tighter.  
>"I haven't got time." He says, then steps on the window sill. I glare, he wasn't getting away that easily. I attach chakra strings to the window and pull it shut, blocking him in. "What the?"<br>"Answer me." I growl, not removing the invisible chakra strings. The ANBU turns around slowly, facing me.  
>"What is your surname?" He asks.<br>"Why do you care?" I question.  
>"Tell me." He says in a demanding tone.<br>".. Hatano." I answer, glaring. He shakes his head.  
>"The you're not who I thought." He says, beginning to walk to the door. Baki stood his ground, he's not someone to get bossed around at all. "Move aside boy."<br>"No." Baki growls. The ANBU raises his hand, holding the kunai. I watch carefully, gripping the kunai in my hand tighter. One strike at Baki and he's dead. That's when I noticed Baki was unarmed. I charge at the ANBU out of protection.. big mistake. The ANBU jumps backwards just before I hit him, causing me to almost lose my footing. I caught the door frame and stood up straight.  
>"Ayama! What are you doing!" Baki questions, regarding my bold action.<br>"I'm not gonna let him hurt you." I say. The ANBU tensed up, I could see it. He stood there, like he was frozen in time. "You, tell me who you are!"  
>The ANBU says nothing, but then disappears suddenly, shocking both of us. He then reappeared in front of me. I had no time to react. Baki then pushes me aside, knocking me out of the way of whatever he was gonna do.<br>"Touch her and die." Baki growls. I've noticed he's become a lot more stern lately, perhaps he's taking the whole ninja thing a lot more seriously now. The ANBU punches Baki upwards on his chin, making him fly backwards and into the wall of the corridor. I swing a kick, attempting to trip the ANBU over, but he jumps then walks out down the corridor. I get to my feet and charge at the back of him, disregarding the pain in my stomach.  
>"I wouldn't do that." He says, maintaining the same pace. I stop.<br>"Then tell me who you are!"  
>"... You're Hatano, I have no concern with you." He says, almost sounding like he was sad.<br>"You knew Hideka.. didn't you?" I ask, watching him as he suddenly stops.  
>"Hatano Hideka... Yeah.. I knew her." He says. "I hated her."<br>".. Then why were you married to her?" I ask. I must've triggered a nerve because he turns around to face me. ".. You.. you're name is Shou, right?" I ask. He stays silent.  
>"Did Hideka ever speak of that man?" He asks. I shake my head. "Then how do you know of him?"<br>"I.. No, answer me." I say. The man sighs and drops Tadashi and removes his mask, revealing two pupiless green eyes and jet black hair.  
>"My name is Takeki Shou... and you're Hatano Ayama." He says. By now Baki regained consciousness, and groans as he holds his head as he raises it.<br>"A-Ayama." He groans.  
>"Baki, take it easy." I say, looking back at him. He looks at me, squinting his eyes, then to Shou. Noticing there's no friction, he relaxes a little and sits up against the wall, holding his head. I look back at Shou, he seemed ready to leave, but something was making him stand there, facing me, looking me directly in the eye. I quickly break the eye contact, remembering that he's a Genjutsu user, and that is my major weakness.<br>"Hatano-san, tell me, what has your life been like? Where is Hideka?" Shou asks. I stare at his feet, making sure he doesn't try anything.  
>"Hideka is dead, and my life is none of your business." I answer in a straightforward tone.<br>"Dead? How?"  
>"She was assassinated."<br>"Assassinated? By who?" He asks.  
>"How the hell would I know! I was locked in my fucking room!" I growl, raising my eyes to his stomach, wanting to glare into his eyes, but stopping myself.<br>"Locked... in your room..? Was she nice to you at all?"  
>"No." I say, then I turn around and raise my shirt up over my back. "This is no battle scar." I could hear a slight gasp behind me, Baki tilts his head, curious.<br>"Sh-she did this!" Shou questions. "Why!" I make eye contact with Baki, meeting his concerned eyes.  
>"Because I made my first friend." I answer. Baki's visible eye widens. Shou then steps forth, putting his hand on my shoulder, and roughly turns me around to face him.<br>"She tortured you your whole life?" He questions. My shirt didn't fall back down, showing Baki the large scar across my upper back.  
>"Why would you care?" I question, hitting his arm away. He looks away.<br>"If only I was stronger back then.." He says, obviously talking to himself. I tilt my head. He looks back at me. "Ayama, it's probably best you don't associate with me." He says then he instantly disappears with Tadashi. Was that all a Genjutsu? I open my eyes to notice I'm sitting upright in my bed. My stomach wound is still there, Baki was in his bed snoring his lungs out, and the window was open. I get up, swaying as I walk to the bedroom door which was partially open. I open it, the big dint in the wall wasn't there. When did that Genjutsu start? It must've been when Shou half removed his mask to put Tadashi under a Genjutsu, I remember looking toward his face.. It had to be then.

I make my way to the bathroom to tend to my wound. It wasn't too serious, but it may take a while to heal, even with medical ninjutsu, well, my level of medical ninjutsu anyway.  
>I wrap a bandage around my stomach as best as I could then go back to bed, though getting back to sleep was a different issue now.<p>

I hardly slept at all. My stomach hurt like hell, and what happened just kept replaying over and over in my mind. Sleep did not treat me kindly.  
>I sat there, my eyes closed, I was half asleep.<br>"Hey, Ayama, you alright?" Baki asks. I open an eye, annoyed that he woke me up.  
>"I'm fine." I grumble, closing my eye again.<br>"You look tired." He says.  
>"Really?" I ask, sarcasm in my voice.<br>"You should sleep, your eyes are really dark." He says.  
>"Then let me sleep." I groan.<br>"Are you alright?" He asks. I nod once. He then grabs the bottom of my shirt and pulls it up a bit, making me jump.  
>"What are you doing!" I question, trying to tug my shirt out of his grip.<br>"You're bleeding." He says, lifting it over my stomach. Once he saw the bandages and the patch of blood seeping through it he panics more. "What the hell happened!"  
>"You don't remember anything last night?" I ask, pulling my shirt down, thus ripping it out of his grip.<br>"I remember coming back from the bathroom and you standing unconsciously in the middle of the room." He says.  
>"... Was I under a Genjutsu?" I ask.<br>"I dunno, it's possible, the window was open, but who would it have been?" He asks. I remain quiet. "No idea.." I lie.  
>"Well you need to get that wound looked at.. that's definite." He says. I just nod in agreement.<br>"Let me sleep first." I groan.  
>"No, get it checked first then get some sleep."<br>"But I'm too tired." I groan.  
>"Get up." He says. I shake my head.<br>"No."  
>"Yes."<br>"No."  
>"Ayama."<br>"No."  
>"... Ayama."<br>"Noo."  
>"Fine, sleep then." He says. I smile to myself.<br>"Don't mind if I do."  
>"But if you can get it treated you might be able to sleep better." He says. I groan loudly.<br>"Fine." I growl then stand up lazily.

As we walk to the infirmary, my eyes remain closed and my hands shoved in my pockets, and I was dragging my feet.  
>"Well don't we seem tired?" I hear Chitori-sensei's voice from behind me. Baki turns around to face her.<br>"Hn." Was my response.  
>"What were you doing last night?" She asks.<br>"Nothin'." I reply.  
>"Did you and Ren stay out late?" She asks. I shake my head. "You look pretty tired."<br>"Yep." I reply.  
>"You don't look too well yourself." Baki says. I open an eye out of curiosity.<br>"Nah, I don't feel well either." She says.  
>"Why what's wrong?" Baki asks.<br>"Ah, my head is pounding, and I'm not even gonna mention the nausea." She says.  
>"You're having a hang over, aren't you?" I ask, using my open eye to look ahead.<br>"Hang over?" Baki asks. I felt a hand plop on my shoulder.  
>"Don't bring yesterday up." Chitori-sensei says. I couldn't help but smile a bit. Chitori-sensei removes her hand from my shoulder to stand up straight. "So where are you two off to?"<br>"Hospital." Baki answers before I could say anything.  
>"What for?"<br>"Ayama's wound." Baki says.  
>"What wound?"<br>"It's nothing too serious, it's just a stab wound from a kunai." I answer.  
>"Who did that?" She asks. I sigh, I wasn't in the mood for explaining details. Baki seemed interested to know as well.<br>"Dunno." I lie.  
>"You don't know?" They both ask in unison.. it was rather scary.<br>"Nope." I reply.  
>"Does it have anything to do with you standing in the middle of the room last night?" Baki asks. Chitori-sensei raises an eyebrow. I close my eye again and sigh.<br>"Lets just get there so I can go home and sleep."  
>"Alright alright." Baki says.<br>"Well.. I'll be seeing you two around." Chitori-sensei says, and with that, jumps away.  
>"I don't actually remember standing in the middle of the room. I remember putting bandages on my stomach then going to bed." I say. Baki shakes his head.<br>"You were standing there all aloof. You must've dreamt about putting the bandages on." He says.  
>"Then how do you explain the fact that I've got a bandage on?" I ask. He shrugs.<p>

As we get to the hospital, get a room, the nurse sits me down on the bed and begins lifting my shirt. I didn't pay much attention to Baki's presence beside me. Though, even if he was.. looking.. he would've only seen my back. But I heard a gasp from him, so that proves that he was looking. I frown.  
>"A-Ayama how long have you had that scar?" Baki asks. Shou seemed to be a very good Genjutsu user to be able to show Baki's personality so well.<br>"... A long time." I answer. The nurse sits me up straight, if Baki looks, he's dead. The nurse seemed to look at him, then look back at my bandages. With her blank expression, I presume he wasn't looking. The nurse starts unwrapping the bandages.  
>"Who did this? This wrapping is very poor." She says. I didn't answer because I wasn't certain and I was not going to make assumptions. Silence answered her. "I'll just get you to lay down on the bed if you will." She says, finishing in taking off the bandage. I look at Baki, his back was to me. The nurse gets a towel and lays it over my chest as I lie down.<br>I rest my head in the moderately comfortable pillow and close my eyes. "This wound isn't too serious, but it looks deep." The nurse says. "It's okay boy, she's covered." She chuckles. Baki hesitantly turns around, seeing the towel he let out a sigh of relief. He looks at the wound too.  
>"Hm? Did you say something?" Baki asks.<br>"No?" The nurse replies. But they could hear something, the sound of me snoring.  
>"Asleep already?" Baki asks, then chuckles.<br>"Well those baggy eyes aren't just for show are they?" She replies.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

I woke up several hours later, it must have been about lunch time. How did I know? I was starving. No one was in the room, I had those horrible hospital clothes on, and I was not liking it.

I look around for my clothes, there they were, folded up neatly on the bedside table. I get out of the bed, my wound only hurt the tiniest bit. Thus, I was perfectly fine and saw no reason to stay in the hospital any longer.  
>I get up and change back into my normal clothing, or should I say, my pyjamas because I never got dressed before we left the house earlier.<p>

The bandages around my stomach felt firm too, that's what I hate about having nurses bandage me, they do it so tightly you could swear that it will eventually cut off your circulation.

After I got changed I open the door to become face to face with a nurse that was about to walk in. I frown.  
>"Ayama! What are you doing out of bed?" She asks.<br>"I'm headed out." I reply in a simple tone.  
>"Oh no you're not. Get back in that bed." She says. I shake my head. I've been tended to by this nurse before, and she wasn't the nicest one. "Now."<br>"No." I object. "Get out of my way, I wanna go on a mission." I plead in my drawling tone.  
>"GET BACK IN THAT BED NOW!" She demands.<br>"Never!" I reply, then somehow using my agility, I slide around her then take off down the corridor, half sniggering to myself.  
>"AYAMA!" She shouts.<br>"I'M PERFECTLY FINE!" I shout back then run straight out the exit.

I run straight back to Baki's house, get changed into my ninja attire then head out to the training grounds. I felt utterly full of energy.  
>"Kiyoshi!"I call, seeing him there. He turns around.<br>"Oh, Ayama-chan! Wanna train with me?" He asks. I nod.  
>"Yes! I would love to!" I exclaim. I look around. "Where's Ren? He's usually with you."<br>"I dunno, haven't seen him today." Kiyoshi says.  
>"Really? Odd."<br>"Yeah, probably has a mission or something." He says. I pout.  
>"I wish I had a mission." I grumble.<br>"Haha, don't we all? Anyway, let our training begi-"  
>"KIYOSHI!" Shouts someone. We both see Kiyoshi's mom standing there with her hands on her hips and tapping her foot.<br>"Oh no.." Kiyoshi murmurs. I look at his sudden pale face. His mom storms up to him and holds him up by the collar of his shirt.  
>"YOU ATE THAT LAST PIECE OF THE CAKE ON THE BENCH, DIDN'T YOU?" She questions. Kiyoshi raises his hands defensively.<br>"N-no mom! It wasn't me, I swear!" He implies. I smirk, knowing Kiyoshi as well as I do, there is no doubt he ate it.  
>"THEN WHAT'S THIS?" She questions, pointing to crumbs on his mouth. I could see the look on his face – 'shit'.<br>"I uhh-"  
>"HOME TO BED!" She roars, dragging him along the ground. I stood there watching, just watching. After they went out of sight, I stood there clueless. '<em>What do I do now?<em>' I look around and see Chiyo walking by. I smile and run over to her.  
>"Chiyo-baasama*!" I chirp, walking beside her. She jumps a little.<br>"Oh, don't do that Ayama-chan. You scared me." She says, then cackles.  
>"Oh, my apologies." I reply.<br>"So what are you doing on this fine day?" She asks, looking up at the clear blue sky.  
>"Well that's just the thing.. I'm absolutely clueless." I answer. She looks at me and smiles.<br>"Then why don't you come over for a while? I can teach you some new puppet techniques." She says. My eyes light up and I smile big.  
>"Yes! That sounds great!" I imply. She smiles.<br>"Very well then, come on." She says.

I follow her back to her house. "Now Ayama, I'm going to show you something you may find interesting."  
>"Yeah? What is it?" I ask.<br>"It's called the Puppet Performance: Skilful Achievement with a Human Body." She says.  
>"Wow that does sound coo- uh, Ch-Chiyo I can't move." I exclaim, trying to move my arms. Then my left arm just moves on it's own, my index finger sticking up then points behind me. I was officially freaked out by this. Chiyo just cackles.<br>"It's because I have control over you." She says, my finger points again, so I turn around to see what it is pointing at. It was Chiyo, somehow she got behind me without me realizing. She had chakra strings attached to me. "This is the jutsu."  
>"Woah, so like, it's controlling an actual person!" I exclaim. Chiyo nods.<br>"Yes. But this technique requires a lot of dedication and a lot of hard work. It may seem easy, but truly it is not. It took me about 10 years to get it right." She explains. My jaw drops.  
>"10 Years?" I question.<br>"Yes, but that's just me. Remember I was around in the time of the Second Great Shinobi War, that took up a lot of my time. Thus, I would have learned this manoeuvre a lot more quickly if the war didn't exist. Also keep in mind that everyone varies." She explains. "And I also want to teach you a little about poisons."  
>"Poisons? Wow, my brain is gonna hurt Chiyo-san." I say, then she laughs.<br>"Yes, it probably will. But look on the bright side, at least once you have learned everything, you might even be eligible to become Kazekage one day!" She exclaims.  
>"K-Kazekage? N-no I don't think so. I don't think I'll ever be <em>that <em>good Chiyo.. uhh no offense of course." I say. She nods in understanding.  
>"You just don't think that path is for you." She says. I nod. "But there are also many other things you could become. Perhaps maybe even ANBU captain."<br>"Woah, really?"  
>"Yes!" She says, like she was trying to convince me. Just then Ebizo enters the room.<br>"Or like us and be one of the village's counsellors." He says.  
>"Oh don't be silly, she wouldn't be interested in that kind of thing. Ayama is a young girl, full of spirit." Chiyo says. Then I got an idea.<br>"Chiyo-san, do you think I could become like Yashamaru-sama? Like as a right arm for the Kazekage? I mean, his job seems pretty full on, and I like having action." I inquire. She smiles.  
>"But of course dear child!" She says. I smile.<p>

One Year Later

(Someone has asked about the ages of everyone so at this particular point after the year later; Ayama = 15, Ren = 15, Kiyoshi = 15, Baki = 17, Sasori = 19, Temari = 2, Kankuro = 1, Yashamaru = 21. I hope that clears some things up for ya)

I am super excited. I had just mastered the Puppet Performance: Skilful Achievement with a Human Body technique Chiyo taught me. I felt ready for anything now, and as for the tutoring in poisons, lets just say I'm not the best studier in the world, but I have fairly good understanding about the most common poisons. Chiyo says it's important I know about this because she came across someone in Konoha once, and she refers to that girl as 'the slug girl'. Apparently the slug girl is a very advanced medical nin, and has come up for an antidote for all of Chiyo's poisons.

So there I was, walking home after a long day of learning. I felt quite strong now, like nothing could beat me. I smile to myself, yeah I was invincible. Just then a kunai struck the ground just a few inches in front of me, making me jump. The handle was pointing to the right, so I look in that direction. Seeing no one, I look up at the nearest building seeing someone on the roof waving at me. I tilt my head. "You need to learn to keep your guard up." The person says. I turn to him, watching him closely. I did not recognize him, not in this dim lighting of the sunset. The person jumps down and walks over to me.  
>"Yashamaru-sama?" I inquire. He laughs.<br>"What? Expecting someone else?" He asks, leaning down to grab his kunai.  
>"No, I just.. was't expecting that." I reply. He pockets the kunai then smiles at me.<br>"Well, come on." He says.  
>"What?"<br>"Kazekage-sama wants to see you." He says.  
>"Oh, at this hour?" I ask, looking at the orange sky. He nods.<br>"Yes, come on." He says, walking forward and beckoning me. I jog a few steps to walk beside him.

At the Kazekage's office, he seemed pretty busy. "Kazekage-sama, I brought her." Yashamaru says. The Kazekage looks up from his never-ending paperwork.  
>"Ah, Hatano." He says. My eye twitches slightly but I ignore it.<br>"Yes sir?" I ask. Yashamaru stands beside me.  
>"I have a mission for both you and Yashamaru." The Kazekage says. "You are to go to Konoha, and meet someone there. This person will give you a file with top secret information. However, he will not give it to just anyone. He will ask you a question, <em>'The moon shines bright?<em>' and you are to not say anything else but '_The sun shines brighter_' got it?" We nod.  
>"Yeah." I reply.<br>"Then after that you may engage in a small conversation, but try not to linger too long." He says.  
>"How urgently is this information needed sir?" Yashamaru asks. The Kazekage gives out a sigh of thought through his nose.<br>"I'll give you 9 days." He says. "No more than that."  
>"And what of Temari-sama and Kankuro-sama?" Yashamaru asks.<br>"I'm sure Karura is capable of taking care of them." The Kazekage answers. Yashamaru nods.  
>"When do we leave?" Yashamaru asks.<br>"Now."


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

"How much longer until we get to Konoha?" I ask.  
>"Not too long now." Yashamaru replies. The sun had been up for 2 hours already, so it's probably about 8am.<br>"What do you think these secret documents are?" I ask. He shakes his head.  
>"That's something we don't think about Ayama. They're secret documents for a reason." He says.<br>"Yeah.. I know.." I say. I look around at the forest surrounding us.  
>"Two days of the allocated 9 have passed.. I think Kazekage-sama may have underestimated us a bit, what do you think?" Yashamaru chuckles.<br>"Heh. Just a tad." I reply. I stretch my arms and swing them around, still feeling full of energy. "Oh! I wonder if Gai-san is around. Yashamaru-sama, can we go visit some people after we get the scroll?"  
>"Well.. that depends, you gotta be quick if you do. We're supposed to arrive, get the file and go straight back." He says.<br>"Yeah, I know! But still I reckon we've got plenty of time! 'Cause if we were to go and get the file now, then head straight back, that would be like.. five days!" I say.  
>".. Oh alright, you've got a point. Let me think this through... if we stay the night, this will be our third day. Tomorrow is the fourth, therefore we'll have three days left..." He mutters to himself. I look at a few birds fly overhead. "It'll be close either way."<br>"I know, that's why he gave us 9 days." I say, trying to be smart. He rolls his eyes.  
>"Whatever little smartie." He sniggers. I laugh and turn my head forwards and see the gates.<br>"Look! We're here already! Hurry up Yashamaru-sama!" I say, running on ahead.  
>"Hey! Slow down Ayama!" He calls, and chases after me.<p>

We slow down at the gates and look around. "Where was this guy meant to be?" I ask.  
>"Well, we have to go to the Hokage. You know, let 'em know we're here." Yashamaru replies.<br>"Right." I look around and in the distance see a large red building. "That's the building!"  
>"Indeed it is." He laughs.<p>

Once inside we look around and make our way to the Hokage's office. After a knock and someone call 'come in' we enter.  
>The blonde guy looks up from the paperwork which he didn't look too enthusiastic about. "Suna ninjas?" He asks, sitting up straight.<br>Yashamaru steps forward and hands something to him. "We're here to collect a file for Kazekage-sama."  
>"Ah, so you must be Yashamaru." The Hokage says. I walk over too. He looks at me. "And you are..?"<br>"I'm Ha-.. Hatano Ayama." I reply, not wanting to say it. Yashamaru looks at me weirdly.  
>"Nice to meet you both. I'm Namikaze Minato." The Hokage says. "As for the file, it should be here somewhere." He says, pulling out the drawer on his desk, then begins looking through some things.<br>He pulls out one with a note attached to it. "This must be the one. There's a code with it though." He looks at us. "The moon shines bright?"  
>"The sun shines brighter." Yashamaru replies.<br>"Ah. Alright, here." He says, holding it out to Yashamaru. Yashamaru takes it and bows to him. I quickly do the same. "So how long are you in Konoha for?" Minato asks.  
>"Well we were planning on staying here for the night, and leaving early in the morning." Yashamaru answers. Minato nods.<br>"I see. Well, enjoy your stay in Konoha." He says.  
>"Thank you." Yashamaru and I say in unison, then leave.<p>

"Ichiraku Ramen, you say?" Yashamaru asks.  
>"Yup. I went there last time I was here."<br>"When was that?"  
>"Last year for my Chuunin Exams." I answer.<br>"Ah that's right. Well, lets go and get some of this Ichiraku Ramen."  
>"Yes! It's... um.." I look around. "Around here somewhere.."<br>"Leaf Hurricane!"  
>"Front Lotus!"<br>"WAH! HOW DID YOU LEARN THAT KAKASHI!"  
>"I take after you Gai!"<br>I blink, hearing a loud crash in the next street. "What was that?" Yashamaru asks.  
>"I dunno. Lets go see." I say, then jump over the building and look at all the dust in the air. I squint my eyes trying to see through it, Yashamaru lands beside me. I manage to see two figures having a fist fight. Once the dust cleared, I could recognize that green suit anywhere.<br>"Heh.."  
>"What is it?" Yashamaru asks.<br>"Hey! Gai!" I call. Gai looks in my direction.  
>"Ayama-chan!" He exclaims. Kakashi hits him while he's distracted, sending him flying. I giggle slightly and jump down beside Kakashi.<br>"Ayama-san.. It's been a while.." Kakashi says. I nod.  
>"Sure has.. about a year now?" I mention. Kakashi nods.<br>"THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT KAKASHI!" Gai shouts, now standing on his feet. Kakashi chuckles in his throat.  
>"It's what you get for turning your attention away mid-fight." Kakashi says. Gai growls and runs over.<br>"Dynamic Entry!"  
>Kakashi ducks and Gai almost hits me.<br>"AH!" I jump out of the way just in time. "Hey! Don't attack me! I didn't do anything!... Yet.."  
>"U-uhh, I'm sorry Ayama-chan." Gai says, scratching the back of his head.<br>"Heh, it's fine. And you two seem more vibrant than ever." I mention. Gai gives me a thumbs up and shinning smile.  
>"We are making the most of our youths! We wont be young forever you know!" Gai exclaims. Kakashi frowns.<br>"We're just training." Kakashi grumbles.  
>"Exactly! Thus, being youthful!" Gai says, redirecting his nice guy pose to Kakashi.<br>"Seriously, that's getting old." Kakashi grumbles, folding his arms.  
>"You're just getting old! Come on Ayama-chan! We should train together!" Gai says.<br>"Sounds great Gai!" I say, then I look at Yashamaru sitting on the roof of that building. "YASHAMARU-SAMA!" I shout, getting his attention. "CAN I TRAIN WITH GAI FOR A WHILE?"  
>Yashamaru smiles. "OF COURSE! BUT DON'T BE LONG!" He calls back.<br>"HAI!" I reply.  
>"Who's that?" Gai asks.<br>"Kazekage-sama's brother-in-law." I reply.  
>"Wow! Really! That is awesome!" Gai says. I smile then playfully punch Gai's arm.<br>"C'mon, lets go train!" I say. He salutes.  
>"Alright, you two have fun." Kakashi says.<br>"We sure will!" Gai says then grabs my wrist. "Onward!" He begins running, dragging me along.  
>"Hey hey! I can run!" I exclaim, trying to regain my footing.<p>

He runs all the way to the training grounds, dragging me every step of the way.  
>When he stopped I stood up and brushed myself off.<br>"All right! What should we train first?"  
>"We should spar! I haven't fought you since our Chuunin Exams!" I say.<br>"Good idea! I would very much like to see how much stronger you have become!" He says.  
>I get my scrolls out. "Well, now's your chance!" I say, jumping backwards a few meters. '<em>I wonder how much he'll freak out at the sight of Daisasori, I haven't used him in battle yet.<em>'  
>"Indeed!" He exclaims, getting into stance. I roll the scroll out across the ground and perform the hand sign to bring Daisasori forth from it. With a big puff of smoke he appears. I jump up on it's back and attach my chakra strings all while the smoke was still there.<br>Once the smoke disappeared, Gai's eyes widen.  
>"Wh-what is that!"<br>"My newest piece of art! Daisasori!" I exclaim. "Behold it's wrath!"  
>Gai gets a cocky expression. "I will still defeat you no matter what!"<br>"I'm not holding back!" I exclaim.  
>"Neither will I!" He says, then runs forward. With a flick of two fingers, I raise Daisasori's left claw into the air then bring it down to crush him. Gai was too fast and seemed to easily avoid it. He jumps to land on Daisasori, but like I'd let that happen. I quickly manoeuvre Daisasori backwards so Gai's jump was thrown off. As he was falling I go to hit him again, and this time, I was successful.<br>Gai went flying into a nearby tree.  
>"Aw c'mon Gai, I thought you'd put up more of a challenge." I mock. He just stands up and laughs like he wasn't even in pain.<br>"I guess I underestimated that puppet of yours!" He says. I sweatdrop. '_Underestimated something this big? Seriously?_' "Dynamic Entry!"  
>"Huh!" I look up from my thoughts, seeing a foot two inches from my face. There was no time to react, and it hit, right between the eyes. I went flying backwards off Daisasori and end up hitting a tree. The pain was unbearable, and there was blood everywhere.. '<em>Did he just break my nose!<em>' I hold my face wincing and cringing in pain. Gai must have realized what he did because he came running straight over.  
>"Ayama! I'm so sorry!" He cries, kneeling down. I was trying not to cry at this point. He puts a hand on my shoulder, trying to see past both hands covering my face.<br>"YOU BROKE MY NOSE!" I cry.  
>"I'll fix it!" He says. My eyes widen.<br>"No no no no!"  
>"Come on, I've done it before! I know what to do! Trust me Ayama-chan." He says. I jump to my feet and back away from him.<br>"No no no i-it's fine!" I stutter. He tilts his head.  
>"I insist!"<br>"NO!"  
>"Why not?"<br>"... It'll hurt!" I whine.  
>"I promise, it wont!" He exclaims.<br>".. Knock me out first!" I whine.  
>"Bu-"<br>"Please!"  
>He became reluctant. "I don't want to hurt you like that!"<br>"And I don't want you to fix my nose unless I'm unconscious and can't feel anything!" I say. He sighs. "Gai, I trust you."  
>He looks at me and blinks. I give him an honest expression. He nods. Suddenly he disappears, and I felt something hit my head, and everything went black.<p> 


	37. Chapter 37

_SURPRISE! Bet you weren't expecting this eh? Neither was I O.O I've had writers block with this story, and may have forgotten about it. I was thinking about abandoning it, but I had so many people asking for updates sooo I've come up with this chapter. It's only short, but it's been how many months since I last updated this story? O.O I need time to try and remember the ideas I had for this story. It's been so long TT_TT GOMENASAI EVERYONE! I'll try and update this story as much as I can!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 37<strong>

"Ayamaaaa.. wake up."  
>I open my eyes slowly, my vision was blurry at first, after blinking a few times everything became clear. I see Yashamaru and Gai standing over me, my eyes widen, talk about breaking a personal bubble!<br>"Gah!" I immediately sit up and scurry backwards along the ground away from them, until I hit a wall. "Ow.." I suddenly felt all dizzy.  
>"Ayama.." Gai sighs under his breath. Yashamaru was shaking his head at me.<br>"I trust you to go off alone and you return in someone's arms, unconscious, blood everywhere and a broken nose." Yashamaru says, making me feel bad.  
>"S-sorry." I stutter, the feeling of being in trouble was something I dislike.<br>"No! It was my fault!" Gai intervenes. "_I_ broke Ayama-chan's nose, and knocked her unconscious!" We both stare at him. "Er, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me sir!" Gai bows to Yashamaru, almost kissing the floor. Yashamaru only continues shaking his head.  
>"Gai. That's the 7th time you've apologised. You only need to say it once." Yashamaru says. By the look on Gai's face, he was going to apologize again, so I reach forward and put my hand on Gai's shoulder.<br>"It's okay." I mutter. Gai gives an unsure nod. It was at that moment we heard a very loud growls. With curious expressions, Yashamaru and I look around for the cause, then we saw Gai with an embarrassed expression. I laugh, "Hungry Gai?"  
>Gai gives a goofy laugh and upon a nod of approval from Yashamaru, the three of us head off to where we were originally headed, Ichiraku Ramen.<br>"One extra spicy pork ramen please Teuchi-san!" Gai orders.  
>"Mmm I'll have a chicken ramen." I say.<br>Yashamaru was silent, and it caught my curiosity. I look at him, he seemed to be debating on two different flavours from the menu. We all stare at Yashamaru waiting.  
>"Hm? Oh uh, I'll take a chicken ramen." He finally says. We roll our eyes.<br>"Take long enough Yashamaru-san." I scoff, then snigger quietly. He ruffles my hair.  
>"Now now red nose, don't get all cheeky on me." Yashamaru laughs.<br>"Red nose..?" I inquire, but then I realize what he meant – my nose was still bleeding.  
>"That is a very gleeful song, if I might say!" Gai exclaims. I turn to him curiously. "Rudolf the red nose reindeer-"<br>"Righto! We get the point!" I interrupt.  
>"We should call you Rudolf!" Yashamaru jokingly suggests. I frown and gently punch his arm, showing my dislike for that name. Something then glistened in the corner of my eye, capturing my undivided attention. I look towards the way I saw it, outside the restaurant. I couldn't see anything, but it had my guard raised. I decide to ignore it for now. Gai and Yashamaru sung that damned Christmas carol for a few minutes until the ramen was cooked. We ate the ramen quickly, or at least, I did. I wanted to finish and find out what that thing was. Heck I wasn't even going to wait until they were finished! I stand up and go to walk out, but then Yashamaru grabs my wrist and pulls me back.<br>"Where are you wondering off to now?" He asks, a noodle hanging from his mouth. I look at him.  
>"...T.. to the toilet." I lie, hoping it didn't seem to obvious. Yashamaru lets go.<br>"Well don't take too long, alright?" He says. I wondered why he seemed so serious about this, but nonetheless I walk out and look around the dirt ground, looking for an object, a thing, or something! Anything that reflects light! But no, I couldn't see nothing. I was now irritated. But I couldn't just walk back in there. What would I say? 'I decided I didn't need to go!' I huff and fold my arms.  
>"Ayama? I thought you were going t-"<br>I turn around and intercept Gai who was walking out, pointing at me. "I don't know the way!" I exclaim.  
>"Oh er.. well there's public toilets in the hot springs, that's just around the corner." Gai says, pointing to the left. "It's not far, you'll see it, has really big signs and-"<br>"Yes! I get it! Okay! I will return!" I exclaim, speed-walking away as fast as I damn-well could.  
>"I could lead you there if you wan-"<br>"NO THANKS!" I shout back as I start running instead.

As soon as I got around the corner, all I saw were identical buildings, almost identical people and the path looked like it went on forever. I scratch my head. "Really? What hot springs.." I mutter under my breath. Though one thing was annoying me about the people, they weren't talking at all. As I continue to walk, I notice the buildings look exactly the same, and I mean, _exactly_ the same. It was tripping me out, the flowers were the same shades of yellow, the dints in the woodwork were in the exact same spots, even the furniture I could see through the windows, they were exactly the same, shape and location! … Genjutsu?

I look around more, raising my guard higher than before. Had I just walked blindly into a genjutsu without even acknowledging it? Did that small glistening object earlier have something to do with it? I close my eyes to focus on my chakra. Sure Chiyo-obaasan may be old and seem senile, but she's really one of the strongest shinobi in our village! She taught me a bit about genjutsu too! She said to release yourself from a Genjutsu, one must focus on the flow of their chakra and stop the flow temporarily.

"Well well.. aren't we talented?"

I almost gasp as I open my eyes again from the sudden voice. A familiar man standing there, an ANBU mask hiding his face. "Y-you..." I stutter.  
>"What are you doing here in the Leaf?" He inquires.<br>"That's none of your business!" I exclaim.  
>"I have done some thinking, Ayama." He says. I clench my fist.<br>"You told me not to associate with you! So go away! I have no interest in talking to you!" I shout.  
>"Ayama! You are <em>my<em> daughter! You will listen to m-"  
>"No! I'm not your daughter! I refuse to believe that! I have no interest in-"<br>"Listen to me!"  
>"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME!" Boy I could feel the blood boiling inside of me right now, I just wanted to damn punch something. I took a deep breath in through my nose, before raising my voice even louder. "IF YOU TRULY WERE MY FATHER, I WOULD THINK YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR ME, HELPED TO RAISE ME! INSTEAD OF FAKING YOUR DEATH!"<br>Shou was silent. I could feel my body starting to tremble, I was getting nervous, but still angry. I don't think I've ever outbursted on anyone like this before. It felt strange.  
>"Faking..." He pulls his damn mask off, revealing that face of his. All I did was glare at him. Then the buildings around me began to sway, and fade away. I almost gasp when they disappear. I was out in the middle of some grassy field, just me and this man. He just released the Genjutsu. How on Earth did I venture out into a meadow without even acknowledging it?<br>After a quick glimpse of the surroundings, I glare back at him. "You are sorely misunderstood."  
>"Me? I-"<br>"Shut up!" He gushes. "Let me explain instead of cutting me off! Hideka was just as fucking bad for that!"  
>"How dare you compare me to her!" I snap. He folds his arms.<br>"She kidnapped you." He says in a low voice.  
>"It's not my fault I had to grow up with h-... what?" His words just registered through my head, instantly I was in a state of shock, most of my anger left. We were both silent for a moment. Shou rubs his forehead with his fingers for a minute before continuing to talk.<br>"She kidnapped you." He repeats, more emphasis in his tone. His eyes lock onto mine, stealing my entire attention, was this really the truth?  
>"Wh.. what do you m-mean?" I ask, my voice was all shaky and uneven, suppose it was the nervous feeling.<br>"Sit down." He points to a campsite, there were 3 logs placed around a dirt patch with burned sticks and coal obviously a place to light a fire at night. I sat down on one log, while Shou sits on the opposing one, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. I sit, leaning forward also, but my hands were placed on the log. Kidnapped.. I don't remember that..


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

I stare at Shou, waiting for him to talk. I was so damn anxious, I desperately wanted to hear this.  
>He just sat there quietly, staring at the coal and burned wood. I didn't want to say anything, so I just stare at him.<p>

"Hatano Hideka.." He _finally_ speaks. I could feel myself beginning to shake from nerves. "That God-forsaken bitch.." He shook his head in disgust, but never looked at me. "You remember that man I captured in your house..?"  
>I gave a nod in response, but I know he didn't see it. I made a concurring 'mm' sound.<br>"He was Hideka's first husband, her first lover since the years of Academy training. They were perfect for each other. I don't understand why she left him at first. They were married for a good 8 years.. I really don't understand why they broke up. I suppose it was because Hideka was unable to fall pregnant after so many years of trying.. they always wanted a child. Anyway, they broke up, and I don't know whether it was coincidence or not, but my lovely wife.. Haruhi... passed away suddenly. She became ill and didn't make it. This was about 6 months after she had.. you.. Ayama." He explains, he had to stop to wipe his tearless eyes.  
>This was all so much to take in, and it came as such a big shock. After so much time.. why hadn't I ever come across the truth until just now?<br>"I was left to raise and care for you.. then Hideka came along, and '_confessed_' that she had something for me. I was a little unsure at first, but we hadn't seen each other in so many years, and we started dating.. after all I needed help to look after you. I couldn't always be there for you.. I was appointed ANBU captain for quite some time. So I regardlessly left you in her care... We dated for, I don't know.. 2 months? Anyway, I came home... one night, and she had a suitcase packed... my house was trashed, photos of my beloved Haruhi, all torn and.." Shou stops and clenches a very tight fist. I could see veins poking out of his arm, which was shaking with anger. "Even our wedding photos! The album! The family photos of when Haruhi was still in hospital after she had you, the three of us! Fucking torn to fucking shreds!" He bellows, I could clearly see veins poking out of his neck too, he really was getting intensely enraged.. but I still said nothing, I was actually gobsmacked by such shock, I was frozen, a tear or two fell down my cheeks. I was feeling his pain. I can see why now... why he didn't want to talk to ''Hatano Ayama'... He would rather talk to..  
>"... It's... Takeki.." I croak. He finally looks up and into my eyes, though his face was turning red from anger, his eyes show shock and curiosity. He stares directly at me, as if anticipating something. "I'm.. truly Takeki Ayama.." I croak again.. for some reason I couldn't bring myself to clear my throat. I guess it was the mix of emotions burning in my stomach.<br>I honestly don't think he blinked since looking up at me, his eyes began to turn watery, but he still did not blink. "I.. never.. knew anything... about my family.." My voice was still croaky, but it didn't concern either of us. I could feel a pain in my stomach, my body felt numb and was trembling.  
>Finally he blinks, tears from both his eyes roll down his face.<br>"Come here.." He says. "Ayama, come here." He repeats almost instantly. It took me a few seconds to get myself to smack these immobilising sensations away, so I could begin to stand up. I didn't even stand up completely when I was embraced tightly and firmly by him.. my father... dad.. My head barely even reached anywhere near his shoulders even though he was bending over enough to hold his arms around my upper back firmly. I felt more tears escape from just this, I couldn't control myself, I know shinobi aren't supposed to show emotion, but screw the damn rules! I throw my arms around him, sobbing into his firm chest.  
>I could feel his tears hitting the top of my head. "You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that... daughter." He almost trembled at the word daughter, like he was going to outburst in tears. But he held back. I felt a strange feeling in my stomach, like a kind of warm feeling. To hear someone call me that in such a soft tone..<p>

Shou.. no, my father, began to walk me back to the village, as he continued to explain what happened in the past. We were walking aimlessly through the streets while talking, not really paying attention to where we were going. "Because I had just returned from such a large mission, I was at a weakened state. My chakra levels were low, my stamina wasn't perfect. And I was purely exhausted. The bitch took advantage of that.. right before I could even say anything, she just.. attacked! Damn-well attacked me out of the blue with a crowbar. It was enough to knock me down, but just at that second I was about to jump up, she stabs me right through here." He explains, pointing to a spot on his mid-back. "Fuckin' hurt like hell it did. So many things were bolting through my mind, and I couldn't think straight with all the questions zooming through my head. Like why the house was like that, why she was attacking me, and where are you."  
>I look up at him concerning. His eyes were fixed straight ahead.<br>"'_You've never been enough for me, I'm taking her and leaving. You're a dead man. You pathetically died on a mission.'_ Those were her exact words. Then boom, she tried to kill me by smashing multiple of your mum's vases on my head." He says. My eyes widen in disgust, I began shaking my head.  
>"Damn bitch.. I could really picture her doing something like that." I mention.<br>"Yeah. So then my brother found me unconscious an-"  
>"Brother?" I inquire. He looks down at me.<br>"Yeah, my older brother found me. Saved my life he did." He says.  
>"Where is he? Can we meet him?" I inquire, I suddenly felt like meeting my family I never knew I had.<br>"... Well as much as I would love to allow you to meet him.. I can't." He says.  
>"Why's that?" I ask, oblivious that I could be intruding on something very personal.<br>".. He passed away several months ago.. from pneumonia." He says with a long deep sigh. My eyes widen. I felt so bad now.  
>"I'm sorry..." I mutter, though I didn't think it would matter. I've made him sad now.<br>"Nah, it's not your fault. Poor bugger couldn't help though. He's never been good with snow." He explains. "He got send on a mission to some place in the snow. He was sick for weeks when he got back. But.. he just didn't make it. He didn't have a wife or anything, so I guess it was less sadness... but.."  
>I put my hand on his arm, trying to be comforting. "Not everyone lasts forever.." I mention. He gives a plain nod.<br>"You're right about that. There's nothing I can do about it now, just gotta move on." He says, then he stops walking. "Right, where are you staying?"  
>".. I don't... know.." I admit, now feeling utterly stupid.<br>"You don't?"  
>"I mean er.. I don't know if Yashamaru-sama has checked us into a hotel or not!" I exclaim.<br>"Well why don't you stay with me? I'll welcome you both to stay at my place." He says. I blink a few times, then the biggest smile came across my face.  
>"Really?" I hug him from the side, so happy. "I'll go find Yashamaru-sama!"<br>"I'll wait here." He says, sitting on a nearby bench. I nod and start running off to find Yashamaru.

So for that night, and spending an hour trying to explain why I took so long to use the bathroom to Yashamaru, we both stayed at my dad's apartment. Yashamaru slept in the spare bed, Dad slept in his own bed, and I had to sleep on the couch, but I didn't mind. It was a lot softer than a lot of couches I've had to sleep on before. It would have been close to 1am I reckon before I actually got to fall asleep. My mind was circling on today's events.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of a boiling kettle. I sit up and rub my eyes. There was only a dim light from the kitchen, apart from that it was dark. It must have been early. All I knew was that I was damn tired. The light turned off and I heard footsteps walking in my direction, I saw a silhouette of someone walk up to the window, their back was towards me. I doubt they even noticed I was awake. It was sad, I couldn't tell whether it was dad or Yashamaru.  
>He lifts a cup to his face and sips a bit. I could see the steam rising from it. He stood there for ages, sipping his coffee, bit by bit, staring outside as the sun slowly began to rise in the distance.<br>My nose felt blocked too, it was irritating. I decided I may as well go back to sleep for an hour or so, so I lay back down and snuggle back up to the pillow. It seemed damp, but I didn't care.

"Morning Ayama."  
>"... Morning.." I groan. I open an eye, it was dad. He had turned around, now facing my direction. He walks over and sits in the recliner located beside the couch.<br>"Sleep well?"  
>"Eh.. adequately enough." I reply, closing my eyes.<br>"You seem tired. You should probably sleep a bit more."  
>"That was my intention." I reply. My nose felt runny, so I sniffle and secretly wipe my sleeve against my nose. I had no tissues on me either. My nose still hurt a bit, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I kind of drifted off for about half an hour, not really asleep, but that half asleep, half awake situation.<p>

"Jesus Ayama!"  
>My eyes snap right open. "What?" I exclaim, panicking. I sat right up. My nose was dripping, so I wipe it on my sleeve again.<br>"That blood! What happened?" Dad questions, he was kneeling beside the couch. His mug was on the coffee table. The room was brighter now due to the sunlight coming through the window. Blood? I look down and realize, my sleeves, my shirt, the blankets, the pillow and parts of the couch, was all covered in blood – and I mean _covered_.  
>"What the..!" I was astounded. I sniffle again, I hope I hadn't caught a cold.<br>"I thought something smelled funny in here, jeez, what happened to you?" He repeats, tilting my head up with his finger. He was inspecting my neck. This only made my nose run more, so of course I sniffle again. "You haven't got a wound on your neck have you?"  
>"N.. not that I'm aware of." I answer.<br>"Hm.." He feels around my neck with two of his fingers, but very softly. "I can't feel anyth- ah! That's the cause."  
>"What?" I sniffle again.<br>"Your nose is bleeding." He says. I sweatdrop. How did I not know that was blood?  
>"Ahh.. I'm really sorry about this. I'll clean it up!" I say.<br>"Nah don't worry about it." He says. "I'll go grab a towel. Stay there, don't want blood getting all over the place now."  
>I sat there quietly. I really wanted to help out but, he wouldn't let me. After all this was my fault. Dad came back with a few towels and a small cloth with he wrapped up and held under my nose. I held it there, he then took the blanket and pillow and thew them on the ground. I move down to the other end of the couch so he could lay towels down.<br>"Um.. it would help to maybe spray it with some chemicals and scrub it out.. might work better than that." I mention.  
>"No no, this will work." He retorts. But really, he didn't look like he knew what he was doing. "Now here, come sit on these towels. You have some spare clothes right?"<br>"Yeah. I do. They're in my bag." I reply, leaning down to reach for my bag.  
>"I'll get it for you, just sit up straight." Dad unties my bag and reaches inside. My eyes widen.<br>"No no no no I'll get it!" I exclaim, worried he would find-  
>"What's this?" He pulls out an orange book and reads the cover. He gets a disappointed expression on his face.<br>"That is not mine!" I exclaim.  
>"Then care to explain?" He says, flicking through the first few pages.<br>"It's Kiyoshi's! He hid it in there once and I forgot to take it out!" I exclaim.  
>"Kiyoshi?"<br>"He's my teammate. Minami Kiyoshi."  
>"And.. he's interested in this kind of stuff?" He began reading the first page. I sweatdrop.<br>"Er.. it's.. it's his dad's!" I exclaim.  
>"... So you have your friend's father's pornography novel in your bag?" He asks. I didn't say anything, because his tone sounded rhetorical. He knelt there reading, like he was getting into it. It made my eye twitch. I clear my throat, but it didn't get his attention.<br>"My my what's this mess?" Yashamaru's voice chimes as he comes out from the kitchen, looking at the pillow and blanket on the floor. I almost jumped out of my skin. Dad slammed the book shut and put it back in my bag, under everything, I wasn't sure if Yashamaru saw it or not.. but I hope not. He then pulled out a long sleeve emerald green shirt, it's my favorite shirt. It's got gold trimmings and a gold scorpion silhouette on the front and the Kanji for scorpion written on the back in this really cool font. I love it. I took the shirt and stood up.  
>I thought the fact that none of us answered Yashamaru was funny. "Your nose still bleeding?" Yashamaru inquires. "Poor thing, I thought I fixed it. Come here." I walk around the couch and stand in front of Yashamaru. He puts his hand on my face, and began using his Mystical Palm Jutsu to heal it. After a few seconds it stopped feeling runny and he removes his hand.<br>"Fixed it?" Dad asks.  
>"Mm. She went off to '<em>train<em>' but came back with a broken nose."  
>"Gai-san kicked me.."<br>"Ouch." Dad grunts. "Kick to the face huh." I swear I heard him snigger, but decide just to ignore it for now.  
>"Does it still hurt?" Yashamaru asks. I shake my head.<br>"No not really. Thanks."  
>"And you're all packed I presume? We're going home today."<br>Dad remained silent. When I looked at him, I noticed this look of irritation; like he wanted to argue about it, but he knew he shouldn't.

So Yashamaru and I pack out bags and head towards the Konohagakure gates, ready to depart home. I felt a little sad to leave, and leave my father behind... but I'm a shinobi of Sunagakure. I can't just out of the blue change villages for crying out loud!  
>I sigh inwardly, and look at the dirt path, ready for another two or so days of non-stop traveling home – unaware of some grand news that had happened back home..<p> 


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

A day had already passed, and we were probably a third of the way back. We hadn't yet reached the desert, but we must be close because it was cooling right down. The sun was close to setting, but we were planning to travel straight through the night and rest a little in the morning.  
>I kept an eye open, searching through the surroundings. I don't know what it was, but I was feeling paranoid that we're being watched. I hated it – mostly because I couldn't see or sense anyone.<br>"It'll probably be another mile before we reach the borderline. Are you sure you don't want to rest for a bit?" Yashamaru inquires. Of course it probably makes no difference that we're walking not running – we don't want to use up our energy incase something does happen, we want to preserve all the energy we can.  
>I shake my head. "No, I'm fine. The sooner we get home the better."<p>

We walked another 6 hours without stopping for anything, and we finally arrived at the borderline between the Fire and Wind countries. I thought it was cool how the dirt around us just fades into an endless sand. There were no trees around at all, only large brown colored rocks and the stars clearly shining in the black sky. The full moon was shining brightly, giving so much light that we could see properly. But I tell you, the desert at night is like being in the snow. With nothing to absorb the heat, the temperature drops dramatically.  
>Under all my clothes I was really cold, but not to the point where I would be shivering. No, I'm used to this climate, neither the heat or cold affects me as badly. But boy did I feel tired. Normally I would be in bed snoozing by now.<p>

"The desert is rather cold tonight." Yashamaru says, breaking the everlasting silence. I nod my head in response and fold my arms tightly. He was right, it's colder than usual. "Do you want to run for a while? Warm up a bit."  
>"Yeah okay." I reply, and so we both pull out our turbans and put them on, pulling the cloth over our faces. After a nod at each other we began running through the soft sand. There was barely any wind, so it made moving around a hell of a lot easier. It was silent for a while, and Yashamaru was way ahead of me, and I had to keep myself awake in order to try and keep up.<p>

Suddenly...

A bright white light engulfed in flames erupted from no where, the bang was so loud I barely even heard it. But the force of it made me fall backwards, and I lost all sight of Yashamaru.  
>I couldn't hear anything and felt close to passing out, like hell was I gonna let this continue. My vision had blurred slightly, so I had to remove my turban from my face and rub my watery eyes. I swear I felt a presence behind me, I was feeling too dizzy to move properly. I waited a moment, nothing happened, but once the smoke cleared there was nothing there. I try to clean my ears out, but there was nothing in them, I still couldn't hear a thing. I started calling out for Yashamaru, but I couldn't even hear myself shout.<br>Frantically, I look around. I stand up and brush myself off. There was no one. Then my ears pop, it hurt like hell, but I could hear again.  
>"Yashamaru!" I shout. My ears were ringing. I began to run in the last direction I saw Yashamaru. I step on something crumpled up in the sand, and when I look down my heart skips a beat. "Paper bomb.. shit!" I began to bolt away from it, it exploded a few seconds after I stepped on it, and the force of it pushed me over. I land face first into the sand. I didn't hesitate though, I got straight back up and kept running. The more I ran the more and more paper bombs I began to see. Was it an ambush? The first large rock I saw poking out of the ground, I ran to it and hid behind it. I could feel my heart racing.<p>

Once I caught my breath I look over the rock and notice many traps set up everywhere. A sudden hand grabs my shoulder and it scared the shit out of me, causing me to jump. Immediately, I turn around to punch whatever, my hand was whacked away and a hand suddenly slapped over my mouth. I was getting very fired up.  
>"Shh."<br>I squint my eyes into a glare, but then I realized it was Yashamaru. I mentally sigh of relief and relax. Yashamaru makes a gesture with his finger to follow him, then begins running in a direction. I follow close behind.

We sprint back to the village, arriving early hours in the morning, before the sun was due to rise. Once at the entrance we were stopped by a few on-guard Tokubetsu Jonin for identity checks before heading straight to the Kazekage's office. Although we knew he wouldn't be up yet.  
>"What happened back there anyway? Was it an ambush?" I inquire.<br>"If I knew the answer to that I would tell you.." Yashamaru replies. "Someone tried to hit me over the head, but I didn't get to see who it was before they disappeared."  
>"I think someone was behind me too, but I couldn't hear a thing so I'm not too sure either."<br>"Your ears blocked as well? It must have been a deafening blast. Well the first one at least. It was almost like minefield with the amount of paper bombs." He says. I nod in response.  
>"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have run through them." I say while scratching the back of my head.<br>"No it's a good thing you did. If you had of stayed where you were out in the open they would have had a clear target of you. At least by setting off the explosions it created enough dust to allow you to escape. But as soon as we report this to Kazekage-sama we have to go and destroy their trap before anyone else falls victim."  
>I nod again. I was about to say something when another Jonin approached us. "Excuse me, Yashamaru-san." He says while giving a slight bow. Yashamaru narrowed his eyes and faced him.<br>"Yes?"  
>"Pardon this intrusion, but you are wanted by Harudo-aniki. You and.. your partner.. pardon me, what was your name miss..?" He inquires. Harudo is the commanding Jonin in charge of the military unit set up on patrol at the entrance of the village.<br>"Ayama.. Takeki Ayama." I reply.  
>"Takeki?" Yashamaru whispers.<br>".. Yes I thought that was it." The jonin says.  
>"Where is he?" Yashamaru asks.<br>"He's at the village entrance. Unfortunately I don't know any of the details." He says.  
>"Lets go then." Yashamaru says. I follow him as he begins walking.<p>

"Be on guard Ayama." Yashamaru says halfway there. I look at him and tilt my head. "I'm suspecting something."

Yashamaru was right. As soon as we got to the village entrance, there were bodies of our Suna Jonin scattered everywhere, covered in blood and grunting in pain. There were a few foreign-looking men standing around in their place. I clench a fist out of anger, while they were sneering at us.  
>"Well well, they fell for it! This is why Sunagakure is so weak, everyone here is naïve! They'll fall for anything!" One of them laughs. I reach into my Chuunin jacket to grab a scroll, but Yashamaru put his hand on my arm to stop me. When I look at him, he was staring at the foreigners.<br>"I should have thought it was you. Iwagakure." Yashamaru says in a calm, yet firm voice. I could see him getting angry just by the look in his eye.  
>"Hah! So they are at least smart enough to recognize an enemy eh? Well now we have two hostages!" One of them shouts, I believe he's the leader. He has black spiky hair and chestnut eyes – well from what I could see anyway.<br>"Get behind me." Yashamaru says in a rather demanding tone. Without hesitation I do as I'm ordered and stand behind him. Yashamaru's hands began to glow a distinct turquoise-like color. He ran up to the leader guy, and I don't think Yashamaru actually touched the guy when he swung his arm, but the Iwagakure guy's chest suddenly slashed open and blood flew everywhere. "I rather not fight, but when you harm our comrades, you leave me no choice!" Yashamaru tells the rest of them. I could only see about five or six, but there definitely had to be more. Yashamaru shot me a glance over his shoulder, and I understood, he wanted me to go get backup.  
>I turn around and start running, surprisingly no one was behind me to stop me. So I ran. I heard some shouting behind me, something that caught my deepest attention- "This is too easy, with the Kazekage distracted with his wench giving birth, and his right hand man here, we'll make this invasion simple!"<br>I almost froze in my tracks. Giving birth! I didn't know Karura-sama was pregnant again!  
>"What?" Yashamaru hisses under his breath in astonishment. "How the hell did <em>you<em> find out about that!"  
>I look over my shoulder towards him still fighting. He looks so damn worried about this, like a piece of vital information had just been spilled all over the land. '<em>Wait.. if she's giving birth.. They have to be at the hospital!<em>' With that thought embedded in my head, I bolt straight for the hospital.

It was quiet in the hospital, one or two people sitting in the waiting room, half asleep, and the lady at the reception also looked tired, staring at a document. I ran right up to her, I was panting heavily – not from being unfit, but from the adrenaline building up inside of me. I could feel drops of sweat dripping down my head.  
>"Excuse me ma'am!" I say, almost like a shout. Her eyes shoot up at me with a worriedsurprised expression.  
>"Shh! Please, not so loud." She says, she coughs and clears her throat. The people in the waiting room were now wide awake and alarmed.<br>"Sorry sorry, can you tell me the room where Kazekage-sama is!" I plead, my face must have shown a mildly desperate expression, because her face turned solemn.  
>"Kazekage-sama... he's unable to tend to any business at the moment. He has asked not to be disturbed." She says. I slap my forehead really hard with a complaining groan.<br>"Look! This is crucial! There are Iwagakure ninjas invading our village! We need the Kazekage now!" I was yelling by now. She seemed too intimidated to decline me anymore.  
>"H-he's in room 219.." She mutters, and the very second those numbers reached my ears, I was already running down the corridor, headed for the second floor.<p>

Once I was outside the room 219, I began pounding on that damn door like some sort of bloodthirsty zombie. "Kazekage-sama!" I burst inside, almost tripping as I stop myself from running before I collide with the very Kazekage himself. He did not look happy. I look around seeing two medics, old lady Chiyo, and Karura on the bed with her legs spread and a doctor standing there. I haven't seen Karura for a very long time, and I couldn't believe she was actually giving birth, again. Everyone in the room looked panicked. Kazekage stood in my view of Karura.  
>"What is it! What is the problem!" He gushes like he was severely pissed.<br>"Uh... t-there's Iwagakure ninjas invading the village! Yashamaru-sama is fighting them now, he wanted me to come find you!" I exclaim. Boy did he tense up.  
>"... Well I can't help you!" He looks over his shoulder at Karura who was screaming in pain. "Go.. GO FIND A FUCKING UNIT OF ELETE ANBU AND HAVE THEM DEAL WITH IT!" With that he pushed me out and slams the door shut. I don't think I've ever felt so scared in my life. I had birds in my stomach, birds! My whole body was quivering and felt light, from the fear.<br>I took a few moments to recover, then I immediately jump out the closest window and run straight for the Pub. See not many people really know of it, but the basement of the pub is actually the headquarters for the off-duty ANBU. I heard rumours there's a secret tunnel between there and the Kazekage building, like some sort of secret entrance or something.

Anyway, I could see it right ahead of me, the pub was just down the end of this street. I speed up my running when suddenly I was knocked over, and I felt something heavy, like a body, land on top of me. I grunt in pain and immediately try to get up.  
>The person who landed on top of me groaned in serious pain. I manage to slide out underneath them, then kneel beside them. My heart skips a beat when I realize. It was Ren. He had a massive wound across his chest and there was blood everywhere. I scream his name as loudly as I could. His eyes open partially, but I could tell he was only half conscious.<br>"REN! NO NO! PLEASE REN!" I was pleading, tears were falling uncontrollably down my face within the chaotic moment. My heart was beating so fast I swear I was going to have some sort of heart attack. I couldn't breathe properly with my heart beating so fast, and the dust and sand in the air. I felt weak, and now my emotions were boiling up inside of my stomach, my stomach felt like it was on fire. I run my fingers through Ren's soft black/green hair.. it was so soft..  
>Suddenly a really stinging and warm feeling appeared on my right cheek. I couldn't help but yelp and slap a hand to my cheek, it was wet, and not just from the tears. I saw a kunai in the ground and turn around. A single Iwa ninja. Standing in the way of me and that pub. But.. Ren..<br>I couldn't find any strength to stand up, my body was just a numb wreck.  
>The Iwa guy pulls out another kunai. Immediately my life flashes before my eyes. Everything was just happening all at once.<p>

He runs at me, I fall over and kick his wrist away when he he swings the kunai, he didn't drop it though, but now I was laying on the ground, _laying_. This was even worse. What the hell is wrong with me! Why can't I stand up! I'm not injured! Why! WHY!

I shut my eyes tightly, and let out a loud wail before feeling my body tense up tightly, refilling with energy. I stand up and catch the guy's wrist just before he got me. I clench my other fist tightly, and with a clear shot to his throat, I slam my fist into his throat. His body reacts with a strong kick, which hit my thigh, and it felt like being hit with a brick and full force. He collapses.  
>I look at Ren full of panic again, he was laying in a puddle of blood. It reminds me of that time with Sasori when he was bleeding to death..<br>I didn't want to leave him, but I had no choice. '_He'll be fine for.. 10 seconds.._' I bolt to the pub and burst inside, there were off-duty ANBU drinking and getting stoned.. this was surely not my day.  
>"Excuse me young lady. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, you're too young to-"<br>"SHUT UP!" I snarl at the guy by the door. He stood up straight from my sudden shout. "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! WE NEED ANBU TO FIGHT!" I practically scream at him. His eyes shot open like globes and he looks outside the window in shock. I turn to some of the men I gained attention from with my screaming. "WE NEED _YOU_ TO FIGHT!" I scream at them. God my cheek was hurting like hell.  
>One of the ANBU stood up and wobbles over to me, plopping a hand on my shoulder his cheeks bright red. "Where's de fighten be?" He asks with a hiccup. I frown. Seriously, these guys are supposed to be Suna's ELITE! And here they are GETTING DRUNK! I slap the guy's face as hard as I possibly could, leaving a nice hand print. It damn stung my hand, but he seemed to come to his senses because he gets up and glares down at me. "The hell'd'ja do dat for!" He gushes.<br>"Come on! Get everyone together already!" I shout at him. Suddenly, after hiccuping, he fell over, fast asleep. I slump my shoulders, and look over by the bar, there were a few women in short mangy dresses sitting on stools laughing to each other, and below them, a man, possibly an ANBU, snaking around looking up between their legs. I shake my head in disgust. I didn't want to approach him, but I do it anyway. He seemed to be the only non-drunk person around here.  
>"Hey, sicko." I grumble, kneeling down beside him. He turns his face to me, and has this light-headed expression.<br>"Hey girl~" He chimes in an uneven, high-pitched tone. He hiccups but there was something odd about it. "Where're you from?" He winks.  
>I pinch his nose with my thumb and finger, and he began coughing. "Cut the crap. I know you're not drunk. Stop being an idiot." I huff. He hits my arm away and sits up straight.<br>"So I've been caught out eh? How did you tell I wasn't drunk?" He asks.  
>"Do you take me for some sort of idiot?" I growl. He groans irritably and rubs his head.<br>"Seriously, what the hell do you want?" He asks, leaning against the bar.  
>"You're an ANBU, right?" I inquire.<br>"Why would you ask that? What makes you think I'm an ANBU? Huh! If I was an ANBU I would be beside Kazekage-sama awaiting an order!" He implies. I'm not gonna get an answer whether or not he's an ANBU, because ANBU are supposed to hide their identities.  
>"Yeah well.. are you a ninja, at least?" I inquire.<br>"So what if I am?"  
>"If you are.. YOU HAVE TO GET OUTSIDE! WE ARE UNDER FUCKING ATTACK!" I scream at him. All the women look at me with serious expressions, and his eyes widen.<br>"What? By who!" He stands up and looks around for something frantically.  
>"Iwagakure! I don't know how many there are, but I believe there's heaps! Now hurry the hell up!" I shout, turning around to face the other people. "All of you! Get up we have to fight!"<br>"They wont do anything, they're all piss drunk." He says, putting on a black cloak, pulling the hood over his head.  
>"We need more people to fight! Why are all the ANBU getting drunk like this!" I question. He puts a hand on my shoulder.<br>"These men aren't ANBU, we ANBU aren't stupid enough to get drunk." He says. When I turn around to face him, he had a bear-like mask on his face.  
>"It's kind of pathetic that an ANBU would be low enough to perform such perverted actions.." I grumble, then run to the door, almost breaking it down just to get outside. I was gonna get Ren and take him to the hospital, then try and find more people to help fight. But I almost had a heart attack when I got outside. There was nothing but a puddle of blood, and that unconscious Iwa guy.. no Ren..<br>"Where are they?" He asks, stepping around me.  
>"I don't know, everywhere by now, I guess! Hurry, go find some more people!" I shout, within a split second he was gone. I start running, I hope Ren is okay..<p> 


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

"REN..! REN!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs, I had been for a while now. Running between streets. That perverted ANBU guy had gathered numerous other ANBU, Jonin and some chuunin and were all managing to fight off the Iwagakure ninjas, but they were all still here.  
>"Ayama!" A sudden voice shouted, I didn't realize I was about to run directly into someone, I try to stop in time but, instead the person wrapped their arms around me tightly. "Ayama calm down! Calm down!"<br>"Kiyoshi?" I ask while panting heavily, recognising his voice.  
>"Calm down, your heart is galloping as fast as a horse!" He exclaims, tightening his grip as if restricting my movements.<br>"Ren! Where's Ren!" I question.  
>"He's in the hospital! I found him laying there, and he kept muttering 'Ayama' over and over. I thought you were nearby so I came back to look for you." He says in one of those really fast tones. Instantly, I felt more relaxed.<br>"Is... is he okay?" I ask.  
>"Well..."<br>My head instantly shot up and I stare at him with wide and worried eyes. "Well!"  
>"H-he's got this.. b-big wound on his chest.." He stutters. "It... I.." He began shivering like he was scared.<br>"Is he okay!" I shout.  
>"I.. don't know.."<br>"How big is the wound!" I question.  
>"I... it... I.. I could.. see his lung..." He stutters. I immediately felt a very cold sharp shiver run down my spine. I was frozen, in shock or fear I don't know. "Ayama.. I'm scared! Maybe not as scared as you, but I'm scared!" He exclaims, tears rolling down his face continuously. My entire life was flashing before my eyes, memories of Ren in particular. Before I knew it, I had more tears running down my face again.<br>I began to mumble incoherently, trying to find my voice. "R..Ren...we gotta... Ren.." I mumble, but he heard me. Kiyoshi loosens his grip, and lets me go. We both start running to the hospital. Then something caught my eye. Some sort of giant shadow blocked out the light of the moon, I stop running, and turn around. I cringe as soon as I saw it. It was a silhouette of a giant racoon-like thing. Its head points to the air, and it roars loudly. It wasn't a racoon...  
>"It's the Shukaku!" Kiyoshi shouts. I tense up in fear.<br>"It's.. right where the hospital is!" I exclaim. "Ren..!"  
>"What the hell is going on! What's that! Sand!"<br>We both see some sort of wave-like thing rise up from the ground, and bind the Tailed Beast. I squint my eyes. "That's not sand! It's glistening, sand doesn't glisten!" I exclaim.  
>"Then what is that?"<br>"I don't know.. but we have to make sure Ren is okay!" I exclaim.  
>"But- But the Shukaku!" He whines. "We'll be killed!"<br>"No we wont.. look!" We watch as whatever the substance was, break apart the Shukaku, turning into a mound of sand which blows away in the wind. "Come on!" We sprint to the hospital.

Once we get there, the hospital had a few broken windows, a crushed wall and half buried under sand and.. gold dust? There was tons of it!  
>"Kiyoshi, look!" I point out the gold. Kiyoshi tilts his head and kneels down and grabs a handful.<br>"It's real!"  
>"Don't get so easily distracted!"<br>We both look up to see Kazekage-sama standing atop the sand and gold. He had sweat pouring off him like some sort of tap.  
>"Kazekage-sama!" Kiyoshi exclaims. I heard a weak coughing and look to the right, seeing Chiyo-baasama covered under some of the sand, coughing.<br>"Chiyo-baasama!" I run to her and help her to her feet. She had sweat dripping off her too.  
>"Thank you-" She burst out in another fit of coughs.<br>"Are you alright?" I question.  
>"Yes dear, yes." She croaks before coughing again. I remembered Karura. I know this probably isn't the time, but I was curious. I look to Kazekage-sama.<br>"Kazekage-sama..?"  
>He looks at me, a calmer expression than our last encounter.<br>"Is Karura-sama okay? Did everything go alright?" I ask. He tenses up, but didn't answer. I instantly got butterflies in my stomach. I remain quiet, even Chiyo was looking at the ground with some sort of deep remorse.  
>"Ayama, lets go see if they managed to save Ren!" Kiyoshi shouts. I suddenly got this paralytic feeling.<br>"Ren.." I mutter under my breath. "C-Chiyo-sama, I must go.." I quietly tell her, releasing my grip on her slowly and gently. Kiyoshi walks over, takes my hand and begins pulling me towards the doors of the hospital.

Once inside I ran, ran straight to the emergency room, which is where Kiyoshi said he'd taken Ren. The double doors were closed, and the 'do not enter' sign was glowing red above the door. The windows on the doors were tinted black, so seeing in was not an option.  
>"H-he'll be okay.." Kiyoshi stutters. I put my hand on the glass.<br>"I hope so.."  
>Kiyoshi sits on one of many chairs placed outside the room. I sit beside him, staring at the floor.<br>"I don't want him to die.." He says. I didn't respond. "He's like.. my best mate.. my best pal. My brother.."  
>"I want to be in there.. beside him.." I mumble, he never answered, so I don't know if he heard me or not. Suddenly, my head shot up. "Yashamaru!" I stand up.<br>"Ayama..?"  
>"I have to go!" I run from the hospital, to the entrance of the village, finding many lifeless bodies of our enemy. "Yashamaru!" I shout. I can't believe I completely forgot about him. Though, I couldn't see him. I moved around a few of the dead guys to see if he was underneath one, but no. He wasn't here. I wasn't sure if there were any Iwa ninjas still in the village.<br>"One left..?"  
>I jump and immediately turn around. I saw nothing. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, again, I turn around with a growl, but then something solid and heavy smacked the back of my head. The impact knocked me over, I was dizzy as hell.. but I was still conscious, now with a throbbing pain in the back of my head. I open my eyes halfway, my eyesight was blurry, but I could make out a foot..<p>

I could hear a male voice echoing through my ringing ears. "Why.. why do you look familiar.." My arm shook as I tried to move it. "... You're still conscious.. that's unusual.. oh well.." The foot disappears from my sight, headed into the village.  
>"H.. hold it.. you.." I grunt. I start to pick myself up off the ground.<br>"If you know what's good for you.. you'll stay down.." He says. I manage to stand up, though my head was still spinning. I could see a silhouette in the dark, but it quickly vanished. '_He can't have gone far._' I began to run, but I wasn't going in a straight line, I was kind of zig-zagging all over the place.  
>"I told you to stay down."<br>I immediately turn around with a kunai in my hand. He grabs my wrist, but before he could do anything else, I kick him in the stomach.. but what surprised me was.. my leg went _through_ him. I quickly thought, it was either Genjutsu... or a puppet.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

It's head turned around 360 degrees, then snapped off into the air, a sharp blade coming out from it's neck. It was definitely a puppet. My leg was stuck inside it's body. This is bad. The head was headed straight for me, so I swing my leg around, throwing the body off, did a flip backwards and almost fell over because my thigh still hurts to lean on. I pull out a smoke bomb and throw it at the ground and hide somewhere. The puppet I was fighting dropped to the ground suddenly, like as if control over it had been taken. I wait.. perhaps the guy couldn't see me, but I didn't feel like fighting, nor was I in the mood.  
>After waiting for 10 minutes, nothing moved, it was just silent. I decided to sneak out from behind the rock, I had a scroll in my hand, ready to summon Karasu at any moment. I carefully tread around looking around cautiously.<p>

Then I heard footsteps running up behind me. I quickly jumps to the side and open the scroll, but then I was face to face with a fist, I barely dodged it by leaning back. I jump backwards again, they follow. I do a hand sign and summon Karasu, which tackles the person. I create chakra strings and take control of Karasu. Once I land on the ground, the person had already kicked Karasu into the air and was running at me. I try and reel Karasu in in time, but I wasn't fast enough.  
>"You fiend! I'll destroy you! How dare you invade and do this!" He shouts.<br>"Wh- wait!" I shout, barely dodging his fist. He pauses for a moment, giving me enough time to notice the cloth wrapped over his head.  
>"Just who are you?" He questions. I recognize the deep voice.<br>"Baki!" I question. He seems to gasp under his breath and he took a step back.  
>"Ayama... forgive me.. I didn't realize it was you.." He looks down sorrowfully. I sigh of relief and return Karasu to the scroll.<br>"Nah, it's fine. Everyone's pretty tense at the moment." I reply.  
>"I was chasing some red head, and he came into the village, he was so fast though. I lost sight of him, but then I saw you, but it was dark so I thought you were him." He explains.<br>"Oh, I see. Red hair huh-..." I suddenly tense up, wide eyes, numb feeling in my stomach. Red hair.. puppet.. could it.. be _him_?  
>"Ayama?"<br>"Baki-kun! Please come with me!" I beg. If I was to go searching for him by myself, I'd get into more trouble than I am now, but if I have Baki with me, at least I'll be somewhat safer. He stood there hesitant, staring at me, as if judging my motives. "Come on! Please!" I plead, stepping toward the village. "Hurry up!" I say then start running.  
>Baki grunts under his breath then runs after me, catching up in a matter of seconds. "Do you think... it's him? Sasori?" He asks. I didn't answer, my eyes lower slightly. "... What if it is him..? What are your intentions?"<br>"I don't know!" I reply. "If's it's him.. Sasori-nii-... sensei.. I.. I want him to stay.. here.." I shut my mouth after that.  
>"... You were about to say Nii-san weren't you? Do you still feel that way.. about him?" He asks. I said nothing. "Even after everything he's done.. to our village and previous Kazekage... would you still.. welcome him with open arms?" Hell I wished he would stop asking me questions.<br>I close my eyes to prevent a tear from falling from my watery eyes. '_Why are my eyes still watery! I can't cry in front of Baki!_' I quickly rub my eyes with my hand, then my cheek started stinging again.  
>"Arh!" I grunt under my breath. I don't think he noticed though.<br>"I see.. well.. if that would make you happy.. I'll come with you." He says. Instantly my eyes shot up and at him, I blink in surprise and disbelief of what he just said.  
>"You.. would do that.. for me?" I ask. Baki looks away so I can't see his face.<br>"Yeah.."  
>I look back to the road ahead, it seemed very quiet around the village, and there were so many corpses of Iwagakure ninja everywhere. I guess they were all defeated.<p>

"Come on, he went this way." Baki says, pointing out some footprints.  
>"How do you know those are his?" I ask.<br>"I've been following them for ages, I know what they look like.." He replies. Sure enough, eventually, we found where the footprints led to, and I was shocked. They lead to the old spot where Sasori and I used to duel. The boulders were still smashed and left in the same positions, there was a lot more sand that had come and buried some old broken pieces off our old puppets, and that rock.. that same rock from back then.. when Sasori first taught me about chakra strings.. it was right there. I recognize it.  
>"The footprints end here.." Baki says, looking around curiously. "Looks like an old training field or something, I've never seen this place before! I never knew it existed in the village."<br>"That's because.. this place is a secret.." I tell him. He looks at me curiously.  
>"Secret?" He asks. I tell him about the times Sasori and I used to duel here to hone our puppetry skills and that it was our own secret hideaway place. It was kind of like a base or something, without buildings. He was astounded by everything I told him.<br>Then just as I finished talking about it, Ren came back into my mind. For the first time in my life.. I kind of felt my heart being pulled several ways. I was so confused, I didn't know which way to go.  
>"So that's where you had always disappeared to all those years ago." He says.<br>"Yeah.." I reply.  
>"I don't think he's around here, he would have come out by now." Baki mentions. "And you should get your wounds looked at." He steps forward, gently placing his hand on my cheek. I cringe and turn my head away.<br>"I will later.. Baki.. please don't tell anyone about this place." I say.  
>"I wont. I promise, come on." He says, taking hold of my hand. I look at him again. He looks so worried and concerned. I try to smile but it didn't happen. Suddenly, we both felt a really painful, warm sting on our hands, we immediately let go of each other's hands and cringe in pain. The back of our hands had been sliced by something very sharp.<br>I frantically look around, almost in tears from the pain and everything else.  
>"Step away from her.."<br>I quickly look over my shoulder where I heard the voice, there was a silhouette there, right behind me, I couldn't see the face though.  
>"No! Who are you! Identify yourself! That's an order!" Baki shouts at him, giving a very intense glare to the person, it caused me to flinch. I didn't know Baki could be so terrifying when he's angry – but I've never really seen him angry before.<br>"I am.." Baki's eyes widen greatly as the person began to speak. A hand was placed on my shoulder.  
>"Th..third..." Baki stuttered in shock. "I thought you were dead!"<br>"Third! You mean-!" I turn around quickly, the person was definitely the third Kazekage. I couldn't believe it! I still couldn't see him properly because it was still dark, but I knew it was him.  
>"...! Ayama watch out!" Baki suddenly tackles me to the ground, a spear-shape block made out of iron sand swoops us, barely missing Baki. "What's the big idea!" Baki questions furiously.<br>The third said nothing, he only lifts an arm, summoning more iron sand. He points his hand towards Baki, directing the attacks on him. I push Baki out of the way of one attack, but he kept pushing me away, as if he didn't want me to get injured.  
>"Third-sama! Please stop attacking us! We're Suna ninjas!" I plead, but nothing I say would get through to him. He never spoke a word. He lunges right for my throat, but then Baki tackles him.<br>"If you continue attacking us, I will not hold back from protecting those close to me, even if you're the Kazekage!" He shouts. Third still never said a word. "... This is despicable!" Baki shouts before impacting him with a brutal punch.  
>"Baki!" I shout. "Stop! He is the KAZEKAGE!" I shout.<br>"Shush! He's not the Kazekage! He can't be! Not if he's attacking us!" Baki snarls. I back off. That would be the first time Baki ever yelled at me. I swear I felt a presence behind me, but there was no one there when I looked.

Eventually, after many punches later, Third stopped moving completely. Baki stood up finally, panting heavily. I didn't notice it, but I was trembling in fear.  
>"B... Baki-san.."<br>"San..?" Baki turns to face me.  
>"I.. need to go to the hospital.." I mutter.<br>"Why! What for? You're not hurt are you?"  
>"N-no.. It's just.. Ren's in hospital.. and.. he might die.." I explain.<br>"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE WAS IN HOSPITAL! WHAT ROOM IS HE IN?"  
>".. T... the emergency room..."<br>Suddenly, Baki took off, headed towards the hospital I presume. Since when was Baki so concerned about Ren? Last time I heard they were like enemies.  
>I stood there for a minute spacing, before I looked at the Third's body laying lifelessly on the ground. Baki just killed the Third Kazekage? … Impossible. But what is possible.. it <em>is<em> actually the Third Kazekage.  
>I then felt a presence behind me. I look down slightly. "Baki.. I.. I-"<br>"Shh."  
>I kept my mouth shut. I've never seen Baki quite so violent-looking before, I.. guess I was afraid he would hit me.. I felt a hand on my shoulder, I lower my head more. Slowly, and softly, the hand pulled me backwards. I let it pull me in, arms wrap around me, I close my eyes.<br>"Come with me.."  
>I shudder immediately, my eyes snap open. That wasn't Baki. I try to step forward, away from this person, but they tighten the embrace. I look down at the pure black long sleeves covering the arms.<br>"Come with me.." He repeats in the exact same tone, only this time I could feel his breath on the back of my right ear. It sent goosebumps all down my body. "Stop quivering.. you have nothing to fret about.. come with me.. don't keep me waiting.. come on.." The voice was a whisper, right into my ear. His warm breath filled my pinna and it created this sort of eerie sensation inside of me.  
>"Who... are y..you...?" I stutter. I could feel my body go numb, all the pain from my wounds didn't hurt.<br>"I am... a friend." He whispers, I could feel his lips practically touching my ear. "And you.. you were my first.. _are_ my first, friend."  
>My heart skipped a beat when I thought of him.. Sasori. I had this feeling in my gut, that I <em>wanted<em> this person, _hoped_ this person, is Sasori..  
>"A... friend?" I ask.<br>"Mm.. come," He pulls me into him, taking a strong hold, a secure embrace. "don't keep me waiting too long. I get a little impatient."  
>I was actually scared to turn my head and look to see if it was him or not. But I also had butterflies in my stomach. Go with him? I don't think so.. "I.. I don't... want to leave.." I stutter.<br>".. Why is that?"  
>"Because.. I belong here.. that's why."<br>"Birds must eventually leave the nest.. Ayama."  
>I hesitantly turn my head backwards, and upon seeing his face, my heart skipped a beat, causing me to gasp. "S...Sasori.."<br>"Surprised to see me?" He inquires. The corned of his mouth lifts up into a smirk. As happy as I was, I felt like smacking him at the same time.  
>"Surprised? Sasori.. where did you go? Why did you leave?" I question. His smirk disappears.<br>"My motives are my business. But I realise now, without anyone around it's somewhat uninteresting." He says, looking into the sky.  
>"You didn't.. come back for me.." I say. "You attacked me! If you wanted me to come with you, you wouldn't have attacked me!"<br>Sasori shakes his head. "I didn't realize it was you." He says in a calm tone.  
>"Bull crap! You said I looked familiar to you!"<br>"Because I didn't recognize you straight away, and yes, I said you _looked_ familiar, I didn't _know_ it was you." He says, raising his tone slightly. I thought it would be best to stay quiet now, and not get into any trouble. He's a lot stronger than me obviously, and I'm in no condition to fight.  
>"...Where are you going? I mean, where are you going when you leave here?" I ask. I was damn curious too.<br>".. I am a part of a powerful organisation. That is all I will say for now. I cannot have you slip out anything I say if you decide not to come with me." He explains.  
>"Powerful organisation?" I inquire.<br>"... Will you come with me?" He repeats, noticing the slightest orange glow in the distance. The sun was already starting to come up.  
>"... I don't know.. I don't want to.." I reply, looking down.<br>"Why..? Am I not.. still your sensei? Your trusted comrade? Or have you moved on..."  
>"I.. you.." I stop and let out a sigh. "I don't.. know.. I mean.."<br>"It's been so long? You don't know whether I'm still the same or not? Is that it?" He asks. I slowly nod.  
>"Yeah.."<br>"Do you think I've changed? Am I not the one who protected you? Do you think I would have protected you if you didn't mean anything t-.. listen, Ayama." He sighs. "I'm _asking_ you to come with me."  
>".. Will I ever come back?" I inquire. He shook his head, his eyes locked on mine.<br>"You will not."  
>"So.. I wont get to see anyone again?"<br>"No. You won't."  
>"How can I leave everyone behind though? These guys are my friends! My famil-"<br>"Am I not your friend too?"  
>"I-... y... yes but.."<br>"But?"  
>"I.. I don't know.."<br>"Why are you being reluctant? I'm starting to grow impatient.. will you or will not you come? I want a straight answer."  
>"If... if I say no... will I ever see you again?"<br>"... No."  
>"N..never?"<br>"Never."  
>I cringe. I felt my heart ache. It felt like a really bad sting, like someone just stabbed and ripped my heart in half. I grip my chest, tightly. I felt a stream of tears run from my eyes down my face. '<em>How... how can I let someone so close to me.. disappear..? I don't want to let him go.. Sasori... Sasori is.. like an older brother to me I guess.. I.. how can I...<em>' My eyes turn to the ground, and I suddenly felt so weak, I collapse. I was still only barely conscious.  
>I heard Sasori's muffled talking, but I couldn't understand a thing he says. I was fighting my eyelids, but it was no use. I heard him sigh right before everything slipped away to black.<p>

I open my eyes slowly, weakly and wearily. My eyes were so heavy, and there was this extremely bright white light glaring into my eyes. I couldn't barely move, but I found enough strength to turn my head to the side. It felt like a lifetime before my eyes cleared up enabling me to see properly. If I recognise any of it, I would say it's the bloody hospital.  
>I groan and lay there, the room was -from what I guessed- empty. It was so quiet, I didn't even hear birds singing. I started to think, if I was in hospital now.. then.. Sasori.. I'll never be able to see him again. A tear leaks from my eye. I didn't get to answer him. I began to sob.. before I knew it, I was crying.<br>I cried until there were no more tears left, I was still sobbing though. I cried until I had no more strength to even sob. I fell asleep.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

"Ayama.. I'm sorry.. I snapped... I regret it.."  
>I slowly open my eyes at the deep voice. Again, my vision was blurry for a minute or so before coming clear, turning that blurry shadow into Baki's sorrowful face. I still couldn't move an inch. I felt my cheeks had dried up tears on them, but that's all I could feel. The pain all hurt at once but it was just so much that I couldn't barely feel it anymore.<br>I open my mouth to speak, but I couldn't even find the strength to use my voice. I close my eyes and sigh deeply, I didn't know I was injured this badly. Why couldn't I find any strength? It was so frustrating. I still felt so tired too, but I don't want to sleep.  
>"I just want you to know.. I promise.. I'll never shout at you like that again.. I.. it was wrong of me. I can't treat you like that.. You're my best friend.. really best friend. I can't stand the thought... of losing you.. you just.. you mean so much to me.. since we were kids..I-"<br>I cough. That's all I could manage. A single cough. I didn't want to hear it anymore, he was going to get me even more emotional with such words, and I didn't want to cry in front of him. I kept my eyes closed however, they were watery I could feel it, but I didn't want him to see that. He'd only get more upset, which would make me more upset and I need to stop crying after everything that's happened.. Ren, Sasori.. I feel like I've been traumatised for life. I even felt like I was going to remain bed-ridden for the rest of my life.  
>"Ayama?"<br>I take a deep breath, and using all the strength I could find, I was barely able to speak. I kept my eyes shut to concentrate only on speaking, but my voice was like a quiet murmur, I was even sure he'd hear me. "B..Ba..ki... soppit **(Stop it)**..." It was almost like I was hissing.  
>"... I'm sorry. Forgive me." Baki replies.<br>I was panting. _Panting_. After only saying that. Only lightly, but I was panting.  
>"You shouldn't speak.. please rest, get better." Baki says in a really soft tone that almost didn't sound like him. I wanted to ask about Ren, but I couldn't say anything at all, no matter how hard I tried, the only thing I got out was a small moan. "I'll take care of you.. while you're in here. Now rest, Ayama."<br>Again, I fall asleep, but this time, a really heavy, dark sleep.

I woke up a month later, I had a lot of strength, I could feel it. Only, my entire body felt numb, so numb that I couldn't feel a thing. I open my eyes, then was nearly blinded by the bright white light shining down on me. I move my arm, slightly, but then instantly, painful pins and needles attack my arm, the whole arm, not just my forearm. I tense up from the pain, and it instantly spread throughout every muscle that I moved.  
>I eventually grunt in pain, and whine under my breath. My eyes were shut tightly from the light, and even my face was getting pins and needles. I felt like there was nothing I could do but wait until the pain goes away.<br>It felt like an eternity when the pain finally left. It had only been about 10 minutes, but still felt like forever. Thats when I felt something touching the corner of my lip, my throat was sore. I lift my arm and remove a small thin tube from my mouth, as soon as my vision became somewhat clear (not completely) I notice it looked like it had something dripping out of it. I groan and just drop it. I lift my head, the blankets were folded at the end of the bed, and I was in a disgusting hospital robe. I roll my eyes, and attempt to sit up, but then every muscle began to ache. I rest on my elbows because I found strength in my arms. I look around, I had needles and IV cords jabbed into my arms. I cringe at the sight, even though I couldn't feel anything.  
>Then suddenly I began to cough, repeatedly. In reaction to this I sat up, ignoring the pain. After I finished coughing I leaned against the wall behind me. The room was empty, but was more colorful that a normal hospital room. There were large – and I mean LARGE – bouquets of various flowers sitting all around the room, many 'Get Well Soon' cards. I wanted to read them while I was alone, but I couldn't reach them. I notice an assistance button on the bed controller, so I press it, perhaps one too many times..<br>Few minutes later about 3 nurses came running in with panicked expressions, they stop and stare at me with shocked expressions. I blink.  
>M.. morni..ing..?" I manage to say, my throat hurt too much to talk properly. They all look at each other, beginning to tense up.<br>"H-how long have you been awake?" One of them question. I blink.  
>I shrug at them, unable to speak.<br>"My goodness this is a miracle!" Another says.  
>"Takeki-san! Would you like me to inform all of your family?" Another replies.<br>'_All of my family?_' I look to the side for a moment confused, then looked at them again, with a slight nod.  
>That one bows and runs out. I then wave my hand around before the other two walk out to get their attention. One stopped while the other went out. I point to the cards on the bedside table, and the desk on the other end of the room.<br>"Oh, would you like to read the cards dear?" She asks. I nod. She grabs them all in a pile and hands them to me. After that she stood by the bed, took hold of my arm and rubbed it gently. I gave her a strange glimpse. "I just need to take these cords out." She speaks, ever so softly.  
>Suddenly I tense, and shiver. She took out the IV cord and this other one. I whine in pain for a moment and hold my arm, because it really stung for a moment. "Here I'll put a small bandaid on it for you." She says. She opens the tall metal cupboard at the corner of the room with a key around her neck and pulls out a packet of bandaids, walks back over and puts one on my arm. After that she kind of left, so I began to read the cards.<br>The cover of the first one had some balloons on it, and in big green letters said 'Get Well Soon'. I open it up and read it;

"_To Ayama_

_Please get wake up soon,  
>I love you with all my heart,<br>I couldn't bare to lose you,  
>Not now after everything.<br>Please, wake up. _

_-Ren"_

My eyes widen slightly and I began to get excited. He's okay? I felt so much more relieved. Wait.. what does it mean by wake up? I scratch my head slightly confused.  
>I read the others, from all of my friends, although, Kiyoshi's was almost impossible to read, he's not really known for his handwriting, no wonder he failed most of the theory work back at the academy.<br>Then there were some from Baki, Takashi, Chitori-sensei, Chikari and Kujirako, Masaru-sensei, and even dad! Wait.. dad? Does this mean he's here?  
>I immediately fill with excitement.<br>Suddenly, people all just burst through the door at once in a hurry, there were so many! Looking at them all one by one; Dad, Kiyoshi, Baki, Chitori-sensei, Kazuya-sensei and following behind slowly is Ren, he was wearing an unbuttoned shirt loosely, his chest showing an almost horizontal, thick pink scar across it. I sat up straight, seeing all their shocked and astounded expressions was a little unusual.  
>I found my voice too. "H..how many c-centuries have passed?" I joke. They chuckle with me, then Ren comes up to the left side of my bed and takes my hand.<br>"Only a month." He says, relief in his tone. Dad shot him an 'overprotective father' glare. It somewhat amused me.  
>"A month? Really? I.. W-why's that? What ha-happened? Was I r-r..really asleep f-for a -mmonth? It only feels like a f-few hours!" I exclaim.<br>"We've been worried sick!" Kiyoshi exclaims. "The moment we heard you were in a coma.. we panicked.."  
>"Yeah.. when I told you to rest.. and you didn't wake up I.. I was scared.." Baki explains.<br>"They sent me a letter about it, so I came straight here." Dad says.  
>"But you're awake now! This is great!" Kiyoshi exclaims.<br>"Yes, although, I must admit, I was very concerned once I heard my former student was in a coma.." Chitori-sensei says. I smile slightly, it's so good to know so many people actually worry about me.

Another 2 weeks stuck in hospital and I was free to go, Baki almost never left, he turned down missions, just to stay with me. He's such a great friend..  
>I was packing all my gear, I had Baki fetch me clothes from our house while I was in the hospital so I didn't have to lay around in those disgusting hospital robes. So I had a small shoulder bag sitting on the end of my made bed, folding up the last bit of clothing and stacking in nicely. I was in the room by myself, the door was wide open. I look at all the flowers, I was gonna need a hand to take them all home.<br>Dad went home about a week ago because he was called back urgently – something about helping to rebuild part of the village back at Konohagakure. He said I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but apparently the Kyuubi attacked the village, under control of some masked man or something. He didn't give me too many details, but I'm not too worried – I was more worried about the Shukaku attacking the village.

So there I was, zipping the bag up. I walk over to this small cardboard box-like thing which had soil in it and a red rose. There was a small note attached, but it appeared to be blank. Curiously, I turn the card over, it had a small red scorpion symbol printed on it. It looked familiar but I wasn't sure. Besides, the flower looked like it was beginning to wilt, it was arched over and two petals lay on the table's surface.  
>It's probably not a smart thing to start using chakra so soon, but I was going to have to. With the Ram jutsu seal, I perform a shadow clone, she takes the flowers and we walk out of the hospital, headed back to Baki's house.<p>

After unpacking everything, I stare outside the window from the living room. Baki wasn't home, and I was feeling somewhat lonely – still. But I was in no mood to sleep, I've slept too much in the hospital. Then suddenly I felt the urge to tell Chiyo-obaasan about Sasori.. So that's what I did, I got dressed into something casual and set off to Chiyo-obaasan's house.


End file.
